


Silent Thorns, Burning Ashes

by oakenlass



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Incredible Hulk - All Media Types, Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Action, Avengers - Freeform, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, F/M, Friendship, Language, Multi, Other, Romance, The Avengers - Freeform, Thor: The Dark World
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-27
Updated: 2016-02-04
Packaged: 2018-04-01 13:51:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 33,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4022281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oakenlass/pseuds/oakenlass
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Summary: 3 women, each from different backgrounds. Circumstances brings them together and forms a bond between the three that last forever. This story is about how the trio comes together and how their fates are all intertwined with the Avengers. It's just a side benefit that they each fall in love. Steve/OC; Bruce/OC; Bucky/OC. Begins in the middle of Thor 2 and goes onward (so... spoilers!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fireproof

**Author's Note:**

> After months of fighting with myself on whether or not I should pursue this story and continue with it... I have put on my big girl pants and posted it (as you can clearly see)! This story will contain language (and lots of it!) but won't to start out with. Anyways, this story will start off kind of slow and some of the chapters will be shorter, which I apologize for. However, don't fret, as the story moves along the chapters will become longer. Each chapter is dealing with a different girl, but sometimes it will stay with one of the girls for a few chapters before jumping to the other. Only two of the girls will be introduced here at the beginning and as we move along the third will insert herself in here. I feel as if this Author's Note has drug along enough, but I just want to thank my lovely sister for helping me develop this (and one of the lovely characters - without her it would just be two of the girls). Without her, I highly doubt this story would have seen the light of day. So thank you, my dear Brooke. Below is just the summary again before the chapter officially starts. Please enjoy and let me know what you think!

Steve was walking towards his Brooklyn apartment that particular day. He had stayed in New York primparily since everything that had happened with Loki and the Chitauri, but he had been doing more missions for SHIELD. Though their main base was in Washington DC, they had allowed him to stay in New York. The state had a lot of painful memories but it was his home. He had gotten into a simple routine of working out, catching up on the world, and going on missions. His life in the twenty-first century had been as normal as it could be considering his past. And oh did it hurt that he remembered everything, but he forced himself to push forward. Besides, his life seemed like it was going to stay in this simple routine he had gotten used to. He was okay with it not changing since it was all he knew now that he was breathing and conscious. A few of his teammates from the Avengers tried getting him to go out – specfically Natasha, but Clint had tried on a few occasions – to get a girlfriend, but he just couldn't. He wasn't sure exactly why, but he knew he was not ready. Moving on seemed so hard to do even though he knew he needed to. He was longing for a life that was long gone.

The day they informed him that they were going to do an exhibit on Captain America and the Howling Commandos at the Smithsonian he was a bit reluctant. Of course he wanted his friends remembered, but that was putting a lot of things out there. Plus, he would become recognizable. But, his want for his friends to be remembered outweighed what he wanted. That day was the number two on his list of days that changed things for him here in the twenty-first twenty. The first day? The first day was something he had never expected.

The day number one on that list was when he was walking through Brooklyn. This was where he grew up, where he had so many bittersweet memories. Some of his wonderful, loving mother and others of the greatest friend in the entire world that a person could have. Those days weighed heavily on him. He missed them, but he didn't regret what he had done that brought him here. He had eliminated HYDRA and saved a lot of lives which was what mattered the most.

Anyways, that day he had been going to go work out. He was going to take a taxi, but decided he wanted to walk instead. He always used to walk, it wouldn't hurt him to do it now. Plus he would be able to see more how life worked in this century and be able to think some more.

It was when he saw the smoke and heard people freaking out that he knew that something was wrong. He hurried towards where the screams and smoke were coming from to see an apartment building was on fire. No firefighters were in sight, but a woman was sobbing. In between sobs, she screamed out, "My son Zach is in there! He's only eight!" She was being comforted by an older woman. Steve instantly dropped his gym bag and hurried over to the mother. He wasn't one to stand by and let an innocent boy die.

"What floor is he on?" He asked her.

"The third! The third floor!" She cried out right in his face. He turned and ran towards the entrance.

Steve managed to get through the door, but the fire had already spread through a lot of the apartment building. He was able to jump over them enough to reach the stairs. "Hello?" He called out as he moved through the flames. "Son, where are you?" He called out, trying to get a response from the child. He heard nothing. He rushed up to the fifth floor and called out again. This apartment building was six stories, but fortunately he had the common sense to ask the mother which floor he should be on. Looking for this child might take a lot longer than if he had not.

Steve moved through the burning building as quickly as he could manage. He checked every apartment he came to, but he just couldn't find the boy. Instead, he found someone else. The very someone that made this day so prominent in Steve's life.

As he moved into one of the last apartments in the building, still calling for the boy, he heard a girl shouting. "Hey, you! Over here! Hurry, over here!" She called. Steve managed to bust through the door and looked through the flames to see a young brunette. She had a lot of debris and flames around her that slightly concealed her from his gaze. Most of the floor had given out around her. He started to move to come closer to the girl with the almond shaped brown eyes.

"No, don't worry about me!" The girl shouted at him. "Zach is in the bathroom, get him first!" She insisted, pointing in the direction of the bathroom. Her voice was dry and it cracked at the end of her sentence. Steve knew he needed to hurry if he was going to get them both out of here, so he didn't waste a moment to argue with the girl. He ran in the direction she had pointed. He got to what he assumed was the bathroom, hearing soft cries and violent coughs from inside the room and nearly broke down the door until he realized the boy may be against the door. He didn't want to hurt him.

"Zach?! I'm going to break down the door so I can get to you, Zach! I need you to get out of the way and somewhere safe until I get in there, okay? Can you say 'okay' to let me know you're out of the way and safe, Zach?" Steve called through the door. He heard some more coughs and then a very small 'okay'. "Okay, I'm going to break the door down on three then I promise I will get you out of here. One… Two… Three!" He busted down the door on three just as he said he would. The boy was in the tub and let out a yell as the door fell. Steve rushed over and put his hands on the boy's shoulder. "Zach, I'm here to save you. Come on, let's get you out of here." He said and the boy instantly grabbed onto him. Steve picked him up in his arms and rushed back into the living room area of the apartment. The brunette was still in the same spot and she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief when she saw that Steve had Zach in is arms.

Unfortunately, the floor was stable anymore. Not a second later, the floor under the brunette gave out and she vanished from sight. Zach screamed as much as his smoke filled lungs would allow him. Steve looked at the boy and pulled his Call of Duty shirt over his mouth to help the boy with his breathing at least a little. Steve glanced over the hole and saw that the brunette had landed on the floor below and was moving a bit. He heard her groans through the crackling of the flames. If he hurried and got Zach out, he could go and save her. With Zach with him now, he couldn't get through all the fire around her down there without potentially hurting him.

"I have to get Zach out of here, but I swear I will come back for you!" Steve yelled down to the brunette. She somehow managed to lift her hand up and do a weak thumbs up to him before her arm dropped again. With her confirmation, he ran through the fire that was getting bigger and bigger. He nearly fell through the floor with Zach, but managed to just avoid it. Finally, he made his way through the building and ran out the entrance with Zach in his arms.

His mother cried out the boy's name and Steve rushed him over to her. She gladly took her son in her arms and Steve heard the sirens getting closer and closer… But that brunette couldn't wait for the firefighters to get here. If Steve didn't go back in there right now, she could die and he couldn't let that happen.

Since she had fallen through to the second floor, Steve made his way there, ignoring the flames that were burning him. He needed to save her. She had to be saved. He refused to let anyone be killed again just because he couldn't make it in time. He managed to find the apartment she had fallen into. Flames were surrounding her and even some were burning her. He rushed up to the flames and saw that she hadn't moved at all because wood had fallen on her legs. She lifted her head a little and spotted him, but more wood came collapsing down on top of her and landed on her back and head. She didn't even scream.

Steve hurried through the flames and through the wood off of her. He patted out the flames on her clothes and felt a lump form in his throat. Part of her clothes had been burnt off and she had a lot of burns on her, but there was nothing he could do at the moment. He swatted out the fire that had burnt her on her back and arms before he picked her up bridal style in his arms. She was limp.

He didn't dare look down at her. His first priority was getting her out of the fire. They were still both in danger. He turned and went the same way he went, getting burnt and once again almost falling through the holes in the grounds.

As he got to the doors, firefighters started to flood into the building. Two immediately flocked to Steve and the brunette, but Steve refused to let the girl be taken by one of them. He was directed outside immediately and was brought over to the ambulance since he wouldn't put the brunette down himself. The paramedics told him to lay her down on the gurney and he did as he was told. Finally looking down at her, he felt something in his stomach clench. She looked so young but her face was dirty and her skin had horrible burns over them.

"Sir, I need you to back up so we can take her to the hospital. Please, we need to save her life." One of the paramedics, a woman, said to him. He could only give a small nod, taking a step back but not taking his eyes off of her. He watched as they loaded her into the ambulance and then the ambulance drive off. He didn't even notice the other ambulance with more paramedics in it that were badgering him to let them bring him to the hospital to check him.

Steve looked at the blonde paramedic that was shaking his shoulder. "I'm sorry, what?" He asked her, coming back to Earth.

"Sir, I need you to let us help you. You're burnt badly and you appear faint." The blonde paramedic said to him, worry etched into her face.

Steve's first instinct was to fight. To insist he was fine… But he could feel the burns and cuts on him now. He looked around and spotted Zach with some paramedics. The small boy looked up and caught his gaze. In a blur, Zach was suddenly running to him and threw his arms around Steve's legs.

"Thank you so much, mister." Zach said to him, his voice seeming weak. Before Steve could even respond to him, the boy spoke again as he pulled back from hugging Steve. "The girl that fell in there... Is she going to be okay?"

Steve looked in the direction that the ambulance had disappeared. "I... I'm not sure."


	2. The Lonely

Steve had stayed at the hospital with the Jane Doe.

It had been about week since the fire, and the brunette was currently unclaimed by a family member. Since she had been in a comatose state the past week, they weren't able to get her information from her. All Steve could do was wait, and hope that she was claimed soon.

Steve felt so guilty for not getting her out of there with the boy Zach he had saved, even though she had insisted to him that he needed to save the child. She had burns all over her body, which the doctors said some were permanent while others weren't. Steve had burns himself, but nothing too bad that he couldn't handle. He'd live.

Now that they were no longer surrounded by smoke and fire, Steve was able to get a better look at the brunette now. She was a really beautiful girl. The kind of natural beauty, the kind that wouldn't look his way. She had such lovely features. She had an oval face, light olive complexion, almond-shaped brown eyes, and smooth, long dark brown hair. She was 5'8" and had a slim, slightly athletic physique. The doctors said she was probably twenty-two or twenty-three. He hated himself for not being able to get to her in time. He at the very least could've prevented her from at least getting hit in the head.

In the past week, some agents from SHIELD had tried to persuade him to go out more than just to the hospital and working out at the gym. He hadn't taken any of the missions offered to him yet, because a part of him felt like he wouldn't be able to do it. Instead of going out on missions now, his days were quiet and not as lonely. He knew that the brunette was in no position to speak to him, but something about being near her was comforting (despite the consuming guilt he felt). In the mornings he would stop by the flower shop outside the hospital and buy a different bouquet of flowers every single morning. He would come and sit with her, putting the new bouquet by the others that sat there. Most times he would just stay there with her until visiting hours were up or would leave earlier. Either way, he would always end up going to the gym and worked out until late before retiring home.

Steve couldn't help the way this was making him. Not being able to save just one person brought back so many feelings and pain from the past that were at times crippling. He should've been able to save the brunette, just like he should've been able to save Bucky and even himself... No, he couldn't think about that. It was too crushing to think about it all.

Something that boggled Steve's mind was that no family had claimed her yet. She wasn't in the databases at all and her face hadn't struck up facial recognition with anything in the system (of course, this wasn't SHIELD's resources). Steve had even asked the tenants of the building that had burnt down. They said they had never even seen her before, that she had just been playing Good Samaritan by trying to save that child. He eventually asked SHIELD to look into it, and they had promised to try, but he knew they wouldn't waste their time with it so all he could do was wait and see.

During his visits with the brunette, Steve had come to notice that at points her heart rate would pick up and drop, but it was only at certain times. It seemed to always be when he walked into the room or when he was about to leave for the night. He took it as a small sign that she was still in there somewhere, and he prayed desperately that she'd wake up. For her not to wake up was not something he had allowed himself to think about yet, she just had to wake up.

He jumped and almost took out the nurse that had tapped on his shoulder. "Excuse me, sir? Visiting hours are over," The older nurse said to him, her voice kind and gentle.

"Yeah, of course. I'm sorry, I lost track of time," He said as he stood and grabbed his jacket. He turned back to the brunette as her rate started to beat quickly. Steve swallowed hard and stared at her. Why couldn't she just wake up?

"It's so sad to see a young person in such a bad state," The nurse stated in a sad tone. "And no family willing to claim her… I feel like I have seen her before, her face looks so familiar. I'm not sure, though. With getting to my age, it's tough to remember some things." The older nurse chuckled and Steve gave her a weak smile before looking back at the brunette.

Steve could feel the guilt eating at him. "Yeah…" He muttered, his face going over the girl's round face. It felt wrong to see a tube going between those plump lips of hers. This whole thing was wrong. Steve looked back to the nurse, seeing her nametag said May Parker. "Has there been any updates on her condition yet?"

"None, I'm sorry, son," May said, returning his sad smile. Steve knew in reality he was actually older than this woman since he was actually ninety-five years old, but he decided to refrain from actually pointing that out. "I do think it is a nice thing you are doing. Visiting her every day, bringing her flowers. They say you're the one who carried her out of the building."

Steve nodded, looking back to the brunette. "Yeah, I was."

"If she wakes up, she will have so much to thank you for."

If. Steve felt something tug at his heartstrings. "She won't have to thank me for a thing. That's not why I'm doing any of this." He admitted in a small voice.

The nurse studied him for a long moment, her eyes going over his face carefully. She tilted her head ever so slightly. "Did you know her?"

"No," He turned away from the brunette with a parting glance. "No, I don't." And with that he left the room, wanting already to be in the gym and away from the guilt, though he had a suspicion it would plague him no matter how far away he got.


	3. Burning Red

" _Theo_! I need that wrench!"

 

"In _here_! I need coffee!"

 

"Come hold this down for me!"

 

"No! I don't need _that_ thing, I need _that_ thing!"

 

"Why can't you figure this out, Theo? My coffee cup stays full at all times!"

 

"Who pays you to read Shakespeare? I pay you to look out for me, not neglect me."

 

And that was usually how all of Theo's days went with Tony Stark. Yep, that Tony Stark. Iron Man, billionaire, philanthropist, playboy, and also Theo's boss. Well, sort of. Her real boss was Pepper Potts, the CEO of Stark Industries. She was Pepper's personal assistant and also Tony's unofficial personal assistant. Theo kind of just believed her purpose for being around Tony was all because he didn't have a lot of friends. She didn't have friends either, but she didn't go seeking to spend time with anyone. She was quite content all by herself. Theo liked to think she was a decent worker. She never complained, even when Tony woke her up at three o'clock in the morning wanting her to go on a coffee run for him at least two times a week.

 

Currently, Pepper had sent her home early because she thought Theo had worked too much in the past week. As soon as Theo begrudgingly walked out of the building, she received a text from Tony telling her to come to Stark Tower with his regular from Starbucks. She swore he kept tabs on her at all times, which bugged her. She ended up doing as he asked – well, rather told her to do – and arrived to see he was all alone, holed up in his lab. That's where he usually was nowadays when Pepper wasn't around.

 

Theo had been working at Stark Industries for three months when all the stuff with the Mandarin went down. Needless to say it was then that she and Tony became more comfortable around the other. She helped him out, though in her opinion way less than Colonel Rhodes had. She had simply helped Tony when everyone else thought he was dead and helped save Pepper from Aldrich Killian. Though, for a while there, it seemed like she had failed to save Pepper… Anyways, everything turned out okay. The bad guy was defeated and everyone was alive.

 

And thus Theo begrudgingly became Tony's unofficial personal assistant/friend. She didn't like being called his friend though; Theo had never been the one to want or need friends.

 

Theo looked up with a stoic expression, closing the book. "You don't pay me to sit around while you do whatever it is that you do," She responded in a dry voice, her moss green eyes going to the hunk of garbage on the table. She wasn't even sure what he was trying to do.

 

Theo had pale skin and a height of 5'2". She had a very voluptuous body shape to go along with it. She had a round face with down turned moss green eyes. She had an upturned nose and sharp lips. Scattered across her nose were freckles and to frame her face, frizzy red hair went past her waist. When she first got the job, Theo had tried to tame her curls in a bun, but her hair had a mind of its own so eventually she started wearing it down. She had refused to cut it, so over the years it had grown quite lengthy. Looks had never concerned her, so she had never cared much for someone finding her attractive.

 

"' _While you do whatever it is that you do_ ,'" Tony echoed her words, glancing up at her briefly. "My work gains no respect. Well, not from you. There are a ton of fan boys who would kill to be sitting in the same room as me."

 

"Fortunately for them they are not." Theo replied, picking her book up and resuming her reading.

 

"You're neglecting me again, Theo." Tony said not even five seconds later. He wasn't even looking at her, instead continuing his work on his bench. Theo closed her book and put it to the side, her deep set eyes finding him.

 

"What would you have me do, Mr. Stark? Get some coffee? I've cleaned up in here twice already and there is nothing left for me to do. I've already done all the work Pepper will let me." She said putting her hands in her lap.

 

"Such a busy-body, even more so than Pepper," Tony said as he looked up at her. "Why don't you brush through your hair a hundred times? Though the brush might get lost in your nest of hair. I think I just saw a bird's nest in there."

 

Theo sighed at his joke and stood from the chair she had been sitting in. She began to pace around the room. "Hey, if you don't calm down, I'll send you back to the looney bin." Theo stopped and turned towards him, her eyes narrowing into small slits. He gave her an amused look before continuing to work on his garbage pile.

 

"I think it's time for me to go home." Theo responded after a few moments of watching him work.

 

"What? But we were going to stay up late braiding each other's hair and watching Sandra Bullock movies," Tony said with mock sadness, even sticking out his bottom lip in a pout. He was trying to elicit a witty response from her, but she just continued staring at him with a stoic expression. "Wow, I don't even get the beginnings of a smile?"

 

"I don't think you realize I have never shared your sense of humor, Mr. Stark," Theo said as she walked over and picked up her book. She slid it into her bag with all her work things. Everything was perfectly organized just as she liked it to be.

 

"There you go again with that 'Mr. Stark' crap," Tony said with a sigh. "You don't have to be so formal with me, Theo. We've long passed that in our relationship."

 

Theo turned to face him, an unamused and unchanged expression. "The only relationship we have is a professional one. You ask me to fetch things for you and I do it. You ask me to spend time with you in your lab so you're not as lonely and I do it. All of this because I am a good employee."

 

"With no life," Tony added on. "And because you're a good friend."

 

"We aren't friends, Mr. Stark. You couldn't tell me a personal thing about myself that you didn't read off my file when you hired me." Theo pointed out.

 

"You read a lot," Tony pointed to her purse where she kept a book. "You always have at least one book on you."

 

Theo kept her eyes on him for a couple of seconds. "Do you know why I keep a book with me at all times?" She asked him.

"Because you don't like sitting still and if you finish your work than there's nothing else to do," Tony said with confidence.

 

She shook her head slightly. "I do take pleasure in some things, Mr. Stark. Reading just happens to be one," Theo said as she folded her arms over her chest. She exhaled slightly before continuing. "And partly because I need something to do."

 

"See? I'm a genius that can read you no matter how hard you keep that stoic expression on your face," Tony responded as he sat up in his chair. He gestured to his project on the table. "What do you think, Theo?"

 

Theo walked over and looked at his project. It was a miniature Iron Man suit, the size of an action figure. Except this one was fully functioning, shooting the junk piles around it. Every time a blast went off Theo couldn't help but flinch. "What on Earth?! Why would you make this?!" Theo questioned as she looked at him with a distasteful look.

 

"Don't look at me like that! I am older than you, you know. You shouldn't look at me like I am a five year old that just spilled their grape juice all over the new carpet," Tony said to her. He picked up the miniature Iron Man and held it up in the air. "It has everything my suit would and more."

 

"Well, isn't that swell for the mice." Theo commented dryly as she looked back up at Tony with one eyebrow raised.

 

"Did Theodora just make a funny?" Tony cooed to her, reaching out to pinch her cheeks but she quickly backed away. Her body went rigid for a moment as she got that dark feeling… Shaking it off, she gave him a glare.

 

"Don't touch me, you know I don't like it." She told in him a harsh voice.

 

"See? I do know things about you I didn't just 'read in your file,'" Tony pointed to her before sitting the action figure back down on the table. It continued shooting things and even took flight. Tony didn't blink twice and let it run ramped. "Still, you might want to get yourself checked for that. There's this one professor of genetics or some crap like that who deals with abilities like yours. I bet he would just have a field day with your bright demeanor."

 

"I don't need to speak to anyone about my abilities, Mr. Stark. Especially some professor who thinks he knows more about my abilities than I do," Theo responded as she looked down at the watch that was on the bottom side of her wrist. It was getting late. She needed to get home and tidy up. She had already eaten dinner, as Tony insisted she ate Chinese with him, so all she had to worry was getting to bed before nine-thirty. She had a certain schedule set, one she just could not bring herself to break. "I have to go now, I cannot stay any later. Ms. Potts should be home any minute so you will have her then. I will see you the next time you need coffee, Mr. Stark."

Theo gathered her things and turned to look at him for a moment. "Have you taken your medicine?"

 

Tony waved her off, his attention back on his workbench. "I will in a minute."

 

Theo sighed and sat her things back down. She went over to where she kept his medicine (he spent a majority of his time in his lab, so she had thought it to be the most sensible place for it) and pulled out his medicine. She then went over and got out a juice box from the mini-fridge (which had other scientific experiments that made her skin crawl) before walking on the other side of the lab table he was at. She used the straw and poked the hole through the juice box and then put two tablets in the lid before holding them out to Tony. He knew it was futile to fight with her, she always won every argument they had. He stared at her with a childish pout etched on his face before he let her drop the pills into his hand. Taking a sip of his juice box, he managed to down the pills.

 

"Happy?" He asked her with a glower.

 

Theo screwed the lid back on the lid. "Satisfied, most definitely." She turned on her heel and went to put the medicine away. She kept a lock on the cabinet because, while she did trust Tony to an extent, she didn't want to take any risks. She knew he could most definitely get into the cabinet if he tried hard enough – he was Tony Stark after all – but he hadn't yet, and she took that as a good sign. As she locked the cabinet, she heard his voice behind her.

 

"Theo, why didn't you tell me about your gift when Pepper first hired you?" Tony questioned her.

 

Theo processed his question for a moment before turning to look at him with a scowl. "Why is that important?" She nearly snapped.

 

"I was just curious," Tony admitted, not taken aback by her tone. He was used to it whenever he asked personal questions or any questions she did not like being asked. It was funny how informal she could be with him despite claiming how they were not friends.

 

"You know, getting a job with not only the most world-renowned superhero but smartest guy on the planet probably wasn't the best cover up."

 

"Smarter than even Reed Richards?" Theo said, slightly quirking her eyebrow.

 

"Well, arguably the smartest guy on the planet." Theo didn't laugh or smile, but her eyes did a slight eye roll which Tony knew was her way of showing amusement. He took another sip of his juice box and watched her with curious eyes.

 

"Now it is time for me to go," Theo said as she looked around his lab. "I trust you can handle closing up your own shop." Tony wasn't sure how Theo had managed to make it through with her harsh tone that she always seemed to keep. He wasn't even sure how she made it past the initial interview at Human Resources. If it was anyone else, he wouldn't even think twice about letting them be so rude, but Theo was Theo. He knew it was how she was, and recalling what he read in her file, he knew her people skills weren't good for a reason.

 

Yony was pulled out of his reverie by Theo opening the lab door. Turning halfway around, he saw her turn to look back at him also.

 

"Goodnight, Mr. Stark."

 

And with that, Theo was gone.


	4. She's Not There

Steve walked through the hospital hallway, a bouquet of flowers in his hands. He had already stopped by the desk and checked in with the nurses. They had spoken to him for what seemed like forever, paying him compliments and smiling a lot. He had just wanted to get into the room already.

The Jane Doe was lying in the bed still, her burns visible and the tube down her throat. He sat the lilies he had gotten her next to the daisies he had gotten her a couple of days ago. He decided he would bring her flowers twice a week. He thought that was a reasonable amount of flowers. He didn't want to seem like he was being weird and bring her one every day. If he knew it wouldn't look weird, he would. He got them from a flower stand just outside of the hospital he passed every day on his way here.

Originally, Steve had been staying in Brooklyn. After the whole thing with Loki and the Chitauri, he moved down to Washington DC and helped SHIELD with missions. It was whenever Fury needed his help. Frankly, he did it because it was something to do. He was tired of all the days were he did nothing. So, he went to the gym more often and made sure he went to do other things. He was trying to immerse himself back into society but it was difficult. Natasha had helped him a little, even urging him to go on a date with someone. In all honesty, he just couldn't. His mind was still stuck on the life he should've had, the one with Peggy.

His visit with Peggy didn't make it any better either. When they told him she had Alzheimer's when he first visited, it had scared him. He wasn't sure if she would remember him and it killed him inside to think that. He still visited with her, though, and she had remembered him. Towards the end of their conversation, however, her Alzheimer's kicked in and it was like she had set eyes on him for the first time in seventy years. He wanted more than anything to be at her side and have been the one to grow old with her. She had children and had moved on, which he was glad she had, but it still hurt.

Now, he decided was open to falling in love but he wouldn't be searching for it. He was open to it more than anything else, but he knew it was going to be so difficult to find someone. He wasn't sure if he could find someone for him that could accept all the craziness in his life. He was Captain America, he was an Avenger, and was a man out of time. He didn't know how everything worked and didn't really want to because it scared him. All the knowledge they had now was a huge difference to the way things had been seventy years ago. He could only wish there was a chance that maybe someday he could catch up.

Steve sat down next to the Jane DoE' bed and stared at her for a couple of minutes. He knew she might not look too good with the state she was in now, but she was really a beautiful girl. The kind of natural beauty, of course. She had such lovely features. She had an oval face, light olive complexion, almond-shaped brown eyes, and smooth, long, straight dark brown hair. She was 5'7" and had a slim, slightly athletic physique. Her doctor, an arrogant man named Doctor Strange that Steve did not really like at all, had said she was in her early twenties.

The reason Steve didn't like Doctor Strange was because he only took on the case was because Jane Doe was a high-profile case. Who didn't wonder who the heroic girl was? Plus, Jane Doe had been odd in her treatment, Dr. Strange had said to him the other day. Apparently, Jane Doe was completely brain dead, but she still showed signs of being alive. Really, it was like she was in a vegetative state. All of her organs functioned just perfectly, but it was as if nobody was home. They really kept her hooked up to all these machines because they weren't sure if her body would end up giving out and they wanted to be prepared. Normally, the doctor or a nurse wouldn't tell a complete stranger this stuff like this. Fortunately, the fact he had saved her, no one had claimed her yet and the fact he was a part of SHIELD gave him leeway. He was grateful for that or he might not have been able to find out anything about her.

"This is where you've been hiding the past week and a half?"

Steve didn't turn to Natasha Romanoff. She had probably been there watching for God knows how long and he didn't really care. All he had been doing was sitting with the Jane Doe, staring at her and occasionally out of the window. "What can I do for you, Agent Romanoff?" Steve glanced over his shoulder slightly and only for a moment.

Agent Romanoff remained silent as she came to stand on the other side of the bed, looking at the girl herself. "She's pretty," She commented after a moment.

"Yeah, she is," Steve murmured, his eyes going back to the brunette in the hospital bed.

"A shame she had to go in the way she did. A beam dropped on the head has to be painful, I imagine."

"She's not dead, Natasha. Everything is perfectly functioning, except her brain." Steve snapped as looked over at the redhead, who was staring intently at him. He exhaled and rubbed the back of his neck with his hands. "Why are you here? Something Fury wants me to do?"

"Actually, it's because you've not done what Fury wants you to," Natasha looked back to the girl. "You've came here instead, even when visiting hours shouldn't be allowed. Most of the hospital staff thinks you're her boyfriend."

"You've been watching me." He stated dryly.

"Of course we have, just to keep a safe watch," Natasha turned towards him. "Steve, this girl, just as you said, she has no brain activity. There's no chance for her to wake up. She gave herself to save a child, just let her die with dignity."

Steve looked up at Natasha. "She tried to hide it, but I saw she was scared as I carried Zach away. When I got back to save her, she looked so… relieved. Like she realized was actually going to survive… And then the beam fell. I got her out, but she's got burns all over her body." Steve exhaled, looking back to the girl. "She's young, Natasha. She sacrificed herself so the child could live even though she was scared. Now, she's in 'a coma' and no one expects to see her again."

"She's not a soldier like you, Steve. she only saved one life. And she has no one who will miss her… Her parents aren't in her life anymore and she wasn't very sociable."

"I had no one either, Natasha. I still have no one." Steve looked at the redhead again, curious at how she knew that information. "Tell Fury I'll return within the week. Think he'll be satisfied with that?"

"He'll have no other choice but to," Natasha walked over and held out a file. "I thought you'd like what I could find about her. It's not much, but hey, it's enough to know her more than you do right now. The hospital staff has been notified of her identity also. I have a feeling they will be notifying her father before tonight." With that, Natasha turned around and walked out. Steve looked down at the file and stared at it a moment before he opened the first page.

Scottlyn Aileene West was her name… meaning she wasn't a Jane Doe anymore. Reading through her file Steve found she used to be a student NYU and it said she came from a wealthy family that she no longer remained in contact with. Her father lived somewhere in New York in a fancy mansion and seemed to be fine off without her. A random thing, but they had records of her checking out The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from a library a bunch of times. Seriously, Steve thought to himself, where does SHIELD come across information like this?

Steve read through the file for the rest of the day, looking for something but he wasn't sure what. As he did, the nurse May walked into the room and noticed him reading as she checked on Scottlyn. "You've got friends in high places, sir." The woman, who looked to be in her mid-fifties, said to him as she readjusted the blankets on Scottlyn. "Finding out this girl's identity was a good thing."

"Yes, I appreciate it was finally done." Steve said as he closed the file and looked over at Scottlyn. "I read her father was her only relative left; did you notify him about her?"

The nurse nodded and looked at him with a sad face. "Spoke to him myself. Said he couldn't be spared from a business trip was on. He's a lawyer for Oscorp. That company is nothing but bad luck. I was tempted to give him a tongue lashing, you know. His only child in a state as hers and he doesn't rush over." She shook her head at thought of the man. "Poor girl." Steve frowned as he looked back to Scottlyn. He did feel sad for her. Even her father hadn't come… "You know–" The nurse began again, pulling Steve's attention back to her. "–sometimes coma patients can hear. So maybe, if you continue your visits that is, you could read to her. I bet she would appreciate that." The nurse gave him a small smile before she left the room.

Steve noticed a while later how dark it had gotten outside. He knew he needed to go back to his apartment, even if it was just going to seem empty… With a sad expression he stood and went over to the curtains to close them so the sun wouldn't bother her when it rose. He paused for a moment then turned back to Scottlyn. She didn't look like a Scottlyn to him, but he didn't question it. Rather he stared at her another moment and touched her cheek… He pulled back and turned, walking out of the hospital room, missing the little twitch movement she did when he touched her cheek.


	5. Spiders and Snakes

Steve was reading aloud to her, to Scottlyn. At first he didn't think the name fit her… But now looking at her he knew it did. He liked it.

Currently, he was reading _The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_ to her, because in the file Natasha had given him he had seen that she enjoyed the book. Not sure why the file had that little piece of information, but he decided not to question Natasha's findings. So he had gone to the library where she checked this certain book out and made sure to get this exact copy. He felt like he needed to because she deserved to have something she liked.

As Steve continued to read aloud, a movement caught his eye. He glanced up briefly and saw that it was nothing. He resumed reading until he saw another movement… Her arm had moved.

Immediately he called to the nurse who came running in. "What is it? What is going on, child?" May asked him.

"She was moving!" He exclaimed as he pointed to her arm.

"Oh," May said in a softer tone as went over to Scottlyn and checking her vitals. Steve waited impatiently, a part of him flooding with hope. After a couple of minutes the nurse turned towards him. "Sweetheart, it was just a twitch. Sometimes when people are de—" She stopped herself, realizing what she was about to say. "Sometimes people in a coma twitch. I... I wouldn't get my hopes up." She said it in the softest, kindest way possible. He appreciated it, but it didn't mean that it lessened the blow any.

"But that's a good sign at least, isn't it?" Steve asked, feeling like he had been punched in the gut by Hulk.

"We don't want to get our hopes up, sweetheart. All we can do is pray." May said to him gently, trying to give him comforting words and a smile but he could see right through it. Steve now felt like he had been punched by the Hulk.

With a sigh, Steve decided that he was done with waiting around today. He was frustrated… And he just needed some time to cool down. He'd be back tomorrow and they could continue reading the book.

 

He sat the book on the bedside table and left, not expecting much anymore. He knew he needed to get back to work, but he was still so haunted by her last expression he knew it wouldn't be easy to focus on much of anything.

 

Steve was sitting in his normal spot, reading _The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_ to Scottlyn just as the nurse – she finally introduced herself as May Parker, a last name he thought sounded vaguely familiar but soon dismissed the thought – suggested she should. When Steve formally introduced himself as Steve Rogers to her, she was in shock. Ever since the memorial for Captain America and his team at the Smithsonian in Washington DC, he was easily recognized so he had started to wear hats and glasses out. The nurse May had been happy to keep the fact he was Captain America a secret so he didn't have problems with people flooding him. He was here for Scottlyn, not for himself.

As he read, he didn't realize someone had walked in behind him. Well, not until they spoke. "Are you a family member?" Steve stopped reading and turned to the voice. He saw the doctor he had met a couple of days ago, Dr. Strange.

"We've met before, Dr. Strange. I'm the man who saved her from the fire." Steve said to jog his memory.

"Oh, right," Dr. Strange said as he walked over and checked over Scottlyn. Steve watched him carefully, not very trusting of the man. The doctor seemed… off. Steve just didn't like something about him. Maybe it was his outward arrogance and pride. Dr. Strange glanced over and saw that Steve was watching him with distrust. "Most people would have left her to die." The doctor commented.

"Not me," Steve said as his eyes went to Scottlyn's face. "She got me to save someone rather than herself. Not many people would do that." Steve looked Dr. Strange in the eye now. "I heard about her father being called. She doesn't deserve to be alone."

Dr. Strange didn't respond as he finished making sure all the machines were properly working. "If it were up to me, you wouldn't be allowed in here. But you have powerful friends, Mr. Rogers."

Steve looked at him again, uncertain how he had known his name. "You know my name?" Steve asked him, becoming more and more distrusting of this doctor.

"If I hadn't been at the Smithsonian for a charity event, I don't think I would've. Your nurse friend Mrs. Parker has been tight lipped on your identity, especially to her superiors." Dr. Strange explained as he stopped at the foot of Scottlyn's bed. "However as long as you don't mess up anything else or bother the patient, I suppose I cannot get my powerful friends to influence yours."

Steve was watching Dr. Strange with a hard expression. "I don't respond well to threats, doctor. The last time I was threatened was in a war." Steve said to him.

Dr. Strange held up his hands. "I don't mean any offense, it was merely a warning."

"Well, doctor, I am not the kind of man who would purposefully mess with anything I wasn't supposed to," Steve said to him. "Can you say the same for yourself?" He turned away from him and resumed reading out to Scottlyn.

From his peripheral vision Steve saw Dr. Strange heading towards the door. Before he left, the doctor called over his shoulders. "Even with friends like yours, Mr. Rogers, visiting hours still hold up."

Once he was gone, Steve sighed and closed the book. He didn't feel like reading anymore and sat back, rubbing his hand over his face.

"Aw, Steve, sweetheart, are you okay?" Steve moved his hands from his face when he heard May Parker's voice and the sweet lady had laid a hand on his arm.

"Yes, ma'am, I am," Steve said as he sat up. May nodded and removed her hand.

"Was it Dr. Strange? I saw him leaving the room."

"Yes, once again," Steve admitted in a small voice. He looked over at Scottlyn for a moment before back at May. "Ma'am, don't you think Scottlyn deserves a doctor who actually cares for her well-being and not getting his name in the news?"

"I think she does have one," May said after a moment of thought. "Dr. Strange is very caring for her. Of course he first took her case because of the getting recognition, but I believe she's growing on him. In a coma and she's grown on a lot of the hospital staff. Some maybe because they pity her and others for their own reasons... Plus, don't tell him I told you this, he had a sister who died that was around her age," May said, a pointed look towards Steve. "Anyways, I think things are looking up for her. She is moving around a lot, though her brain is still dead. Her body will sit up and other things. I'm not what sure to think of it, Steve. It's like she's no longer in there but her body thinks she is."

Steve was quiet, watching Scottlyn with a sad expression. "Do you think there's ever a possibly of her waking up?" He asked her. May sighed, a sad look etching the woman's face.

"I didn't want to tell you this because I knew you would be upset, but I think you should know."

Steve now turned to face May completely. "What is it?" He asked her.

"Her father was called, as you know, and was told of Scottlyn's situation. He ordered us to cut off her machines and let her die, that he wanted us to fax him the papers he needed to sign for his consent. He said he would be here within the week."


	6. Start of Something New

Theo's shoes hit the stairs as she rushed down them. Tony had just finished off his final jar of coffee, so she had to go buy more mix and also buy him and his guest (who had not arrived yet) a coffee from the local Starbucks, which was just going to be fun to go to because of the long lines that were undoubtedly waiting there for her.

Tony's words from the other night still floated around in her head. Why didn't you tell me about your gift when Pepper first hired you? Well, the question in itself was stupid to Theo. Why would she have told him? It was a risk to her entire identity. Besides, after everything she had gone through, she would prefer not to go revisit those things.

Something that also bugged Theo about Tony's question was his tone when he asked her. He sounded uncertain, but even a little hurt. Why was he hurt over her not telling him a small piece of information? And why had he called her abilities a 'gift'? It was a curse. If he had to see every memory of a person along with their feelings in the situation, he would not be calling it a gift.

Theo's train of thoughts derailed when she started to open the door to leave the stairwell when something shoved it open. The door smacked against her head and her vision went black for a moment. Steadied by two hands that were not her own, Theo was overtaken by anger… such overwhelming anger and pain. It was almost as if she was drowning in the anger and pain she was feeling as flashes went through her. Betty Ross. General Ross. Gamma radiation. The Other Guy… Loki… Nick Fury… The Avengers…?

"Miss, are you okay?"

Theo blinked herself back to see kind brown eyes. For a moment, all she could think about was the anger flowing through her… And then she felt a hand on her arm as he vision started going blurry again. She yanked herself away from the man in front of her and glared at him. He was 5' 8" with a shaved head colored salt and peppered, though it was more grey than brown. He looked quite familiar, but Theo couldn't place where she had seen him before. She couldn't help the unsettling feeling she felt rising in her as the brown eyes stared at her with worried and confusion.

"Excuse me." Theo said as she regained her composure. She removed all emotion from her face, refusing to allow this stranger to see any clues about her from her visage. Slowly Theo moved around the man, making sure to be careful not touch him. But yet, it seemed that this man wasn't about to let her run off.

"Miss, your head is bleeding! I'm a doctor, my bag's right here. Please, let me make sure you're okay and stitch you up so you don't lose any more blood. The door hit you hard, you may have a concussion." The man went to reach out towards her, but Theo quickly stepped away from him with a warning glare.

Blinking her eyes from the dizziness, Theo reached up to her forehead and felt the blood he was speaking about. She brought her hand back in front of her face to look at the blood and resisted the urge to wipe it on her clothes. Fortunately for Theo, she had never been afraid of blood. People used to say she would become a doctor someday... Well, they did before the accident.

"No, I can clean it up myself. I-I can do it—" Theo murmured as she looked back at the man. Hestarted to move towards her again but she swatted him back with her bloody hands. "Don't touch me! I-I don't like physical contact." She growled at the man. She was feeling dizzier as the seconds zoomed by.

"Okay, I'm not going to touch you, I promise," The brown eyed man held his hands up in surrender. Theo looked at him with caution, not trusting him to not try to help her. "Please, miss, sit on the stairs. You're swaying back and forth, and I'm scared you're going to pass out and that I won't be able to catch you."

Theo watched him for a brief second before acquiescing to the request. She looked back at him with a shrouded gaze – some of the blood was beginning to hit her eye – as he bent down to one of the bags by his feet. He produced a shirt from the bag and held it out to Theo.

"Here, hold pressure on that wound." Bruce instructed her. She took the shirt without a second thought and pressed it to her temple. Theo wouldn't have trusted the man but her mind was a bit foggy from the impact. He moved closer to her with his bag and held up his hands.

"You're going to have to let me help you. I don't know how serious the injury is from keeping my distance. I'll try to avoid touching you as much as possible, okay? I promise."

Theo stared at him a moment before nodding. Within a second he was by her side and cleaning her wound. She tried to focus on what he was doing, but she was feeling a bit woozy. She felt that he was cleaning the wound and was shining a light in her eyes, asking her to follow it.

"What's your name?" He asked her and she looked over at him in confusion.

"What?" She responded, her word slurring a bit at the end of it.

"I asked you what your name is. I'm trying to make small-talk to keep you conscious because you look like you're about to fall over." He responded, not pausing his work for a moment to look at her. Theo stared at him with a feeling she wasn't sure of. Perhaps it was from the visions she saw when she touched him and her lack of time to decipher what they meant.

"Theodora." She answered after a second.

"Nice to meet you, Theodora, I'm Bruce."

"Mr. Stark's friend?" Theo blurted out before she could stop herself. He paused cleaning her wound to look at her, his eyebrows raised.

"Yes, that's me."

"I was going to get you both drinks at Starbucks." Theo added on after a brief moment of silence between them. What were they supposed to say to another? All Theo knew of him was that he and Tony were close and both were perhaps the smartest men in the world.

Bruce went back to working on her. "He told me to get you Calm Brewed Tea." She murmured, her moss green eyes moving to the floor.

Bruce chuckled. "He's got quite a sense of humor, doesn't he?"

Theo didn't respond; she felt her shoulders growing as heavy as her eyelids. She listened to the sound of Bruce's work on her cut. Surprisingly it was calming for her considering she had never liked doctors all that well. Bruce disturbed her peace with a jolt with a light touch on her arm.

"Theodora, you've got to stay awake for me. If you fall asleep for even a moment its bad news." Bruce stated as her eyes met his. "You've got a concussion. Meaning that after I patch you up, someone's going to have to keep an eye on you since you're showing signs of drowsiness."

"No, I've got to do my job. I've got to… to go get tea and coffee for you and Mr. Stark." Theo insisted as she turned her head to look at him but he told her to stop moving so he could stitch her up. With a slight huff she moved her head back the way it was, tempted to fall asleep to spite him.

"Are you feeling any pain?" Bruce asked her in a soothing voice.

"No, I'm in no pain," Theo responded after a moment, folding her eyes over her chest. "I've felt worse. This is hardly a one on the scale."

"Hardly a one?" Bruce queried. "Someone's a bit of a fighter aren't they? I could've told you that from your reaction to me hitting you with the door."

Theo fixed her gaze on the stairs, uncertain how exactly he expected her to respond to that. She had never been good with speaking to others, especially when paid a compliment.

Once Bruce realized she wasn't going to respond, he tried continue a conversation. "I'm sorry about running into you. I wasn't paying attention and I was in a rush to get away from the crowds in the lobby. I figured taking the stairwell would be best. Stuck in an elevator with others… I didn't want to risk it."

"Mr. Stark mentioned that you might not like taking an elevator with others. Miss Holt at the front desk should have alerted you of the private elevator for your use; I told her of it myself." Theo said to him.

"Oh, she was on the phone and a bit distracted. I'm sure if I had waited for her to get off the phone she would have told me." Bruce paused for a moment. "Why do you use the staircase?"

"It doesn't matter."

"I understand," Bruce responded as he dropped his hands into his lap. She glanced over at him to see he was looking at her knowingly. As quick as she looked over she turned her gaze again. Clearing his throat, Bruce began meddling through his bag. "Okay, so I have something that will help with the dizziness if you are comfortable with it? It'll help while I finish up your stitches."

Theo didn't respond and instead focused on the needle in his hand. "Theodora? You still with me?" He questioned.

"Yes, I'm aware." Theo responded to him as her eyes went back to him. "I would prefer to not have a needle in my arm."

"Just checking. I have a feeling Tony will hurt me when he finds out I injured his favorite employee." Bruce said with a soft chuckle as he put the needle away.

"Technically my boss is Ms. Potts. I am not Mr. Stark's employee, but I suppose you could say I am his unofficial assistant." Theo shrugged her shoulders. It hit her that this was the most she had ever spoken to someone other than Tony and Pepper for more than a minute.

"Ah, my mistake then."

There was more silence before Theo broke it. "You said I was Mr. Stark's favorite employee. What makes you say that?" She questioned him.

"He mentioned you the other day is all. He never talks about his employees... Other than Happy that is."

"Oh." Theo murmured as she looked down at her clenched fists. All she wanted was for him to finish with her stitches so she could go get the coffee and tea from Starbucks. "Good things, I hope?"

She saw Bruce smile from her peripheral. "All good things. Just like your love for Shakespeare."

Theo looked down at the ground again and didn't respond. Once again, she wasn't sure how she needed to respond.

"All done." Bruce finally said and she didn't waste a moment before she stood to her feet. "Theodora, you shouldn't—"

Theo turned back to face him, quick enough to make her feel a little woozy. She hid it from him with a stoic expression. "I'll be fine, Dr. Banner. Please, just go on up to Mr. Stark and I'll be back in a while with your drinks." With that, Theo turned back around and headed out of the stairwell.

Tony sighed at the doctor sitting across from him. He couldn't believe Bruce had elected to fall asleep rather than listening to a single word of the Tony's story with the Mandarin. It was so life changing for Tony and his friend had fallen asleep. Tony had thought the tale to be interesting or to at least have enough action to be interesting.

"I'm sorry, I'm not that kind of doctor. I'm not a therapist. It's not my kind of training. I don't have the—" Tony looked at the man in shock and slight annoyance.

"What? The time?" Tony prompted him.

"Temperament."

Tony leaned back in his chair, that word reminding him of something. "You know what, now that I think about it, oh God, my original wound 1983, alright? I'm 14 years old, I still have a nanny?"

"Yes." He heard Bruce sigh and saw him rubbing his eyes.

"That was weird." Tony responded in reference to his nanny. He wondered how the woman was doing now…

A new voice spoke out that disrupted the tale. "Sir, Miss Carlyle is here." JARVIS said to his creator.

"Send her in." Tony ordered with a wave of his hand. Theo had to go get him coffee and had been gone an hour. Usually she was able to get the coffee and be back in less than thirty minutes. New York traffic was a pain, but Theo was able to get through it so fast he didn't know how she did it.

Bruce tensed up slightly. "Should I go to another room?"

Tony knew Bruce's worry was only because no one was to know the man was in the city, let alone in America. The agreement with Fury was that Bruce was to leave the country and avoid stressful situations. From time to time, SHIELD would pull him when they needed him, but for the most part the agency had kept their distances from the doctor. Tony was glad his friend had a little more freedom and a little less stress than before.

Tony looked over at his friend with shake of his head. "Theo isn't someone to worry about, she's not SHIELD. She's Pepper's official assistant and unofficially plays as mine from time to time…" He glanced at his watch. "Which is what she is playing as now. Well, I suppose I should say most of the time. I don't think she's worked for Pepper for a few days now."

The door opened to the upper level of Stark Tower, producing a curvy redhead. She held two Starbucks cups… and a series of stitches on her forehead.

"I got your coffee and tea as you requested, Mr. Stark." Theo said in a small voice as she walked over to him, holding the tray out. Tony noticed she was being more shy than usual. She hadn't looked in Bruce's direction once and her hunched shoulders were as if she hoped she had a shell she could shrink back into.

Tony took the coffee from the tray and sucked some of it down, noticing a detail on Theo's forehead that had not been there before. He stood up and leaned closer in to look at her stitches on her forehead.

"What the hell did you do to your head?" He demanded from her.

"I hit it as I was leaving the building. It's nothing serious—"

"I hit her in the head with the door," Bruce interrupted from his seat. "I cleaned the wound and stitched it up afterwards. I tried to convince her not to go get the drinks, that she should be resting, but she insisted on going to get them."

"Wow, talk about knocking a girl off her feet. Or is it sweeping? I can never remember," Tony studied Theo closely, seeing she looked a bit more pale than usual. "Does she have a concussion?" He asked Bruce.

"Yes, she has signs of one."

"I'm right here, Mr. Stark. You can ask me the questions about myself, not Dr. Banner." Theo said, her voice holding a bit of anger in it. She was pointedly looking at Tony, as if she was ignoring Bruce.

"Well, then guess what, Theo? You get to stay in one of the guest rooms tonight. Since we have our own doctor here now, he can check to make sure you're not dead."

"No, I'm not staying here." Theo refused as Tony took a seat on the sofa he had been relaxing on before. "You know I can't do that, Mr. Stark."

"Why? Because of your OCD ritual thing?"

Theo hesitated a moment, finally glancing over at Bruce. "Yes."

"Theo, I'm not losing my favorite employee because she was too stubborn to accept help. This is me, as your friend, telling you that you're staying tonight here. We'll find you some pajamas and extra clothes. I would send someone to go to your apartment, but I know you don't like people touching you or your things." Tony said as he continued to sip on his coffee.

Theo stared at him for a long moment before closing her eyes and taking a few breaths in and out. Finally she opened her eyes and gave him a distasteful look.

"I am going to quit one of these days." Theo muttered before she took the tea out of the cup holder. She turned to the other man in the room, keeping her eyes on the cup as she kept her grip more towards the bottom so she wouldn't touch him. Holding it out to him, she watched with caution as Bruce reached to grab it. She was so relieved when he didn't brush skin with her as he grabbed it. As he pulled away, it was a different story. His fingers brushed against hers, and it instantly caused her to flinch and clench her teeth.

Tony noticed her tensing up and wondered what she saw. Whatever it was, it caused her to squeeze her eyes shut and pinch her arm. When she opened her eyes, her eyes met with Bruce's. "Theodora? Are you okay?" The doctor asked her.

Theo stepped away from Bruce, moving her gaze away from him again to Tony. "I-I'm fine. I just got a little faint is all." She looked over to see the tea had spilled and jumped to pick it up. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I will run to go get another right now." She picked up the cup and poured the rest into the sink before tossing it into the trash. She started to grab paper towels, but Tony stopped her.

"The maid will get it, Theo."

Theo stopped for a moment before continuing to get the paper towels. She walked over to the spill and scrubbed for a moment before laying other paper towels over it. She looked over at Tony, her eyebrows raised. "They're paid to clean up your routine messes, not mine, sir." She said as she walked over to the trashcan and threw the dirty paper towels in.

"Just because you add 'sir' on the end does not make it respectful, Theo." Tony pointed out.

Theo turned back to face him, condescension in her voice. "Forgive me if my tone was too harsh, Mr. Stark. I was simply stating the truth."

"Employees," Tony said, shaking his head. He looked over at Bruce. "They just don't understand, you know?"

"You don't have to worry about getting me another, Miss Carlyle." Bruce said as he looked to the redhead. Tony noticed Bruce was watching her with an uncertain expression. "I don't need a drink."

"No, Dr. Banner, it was my fault because I spilled your drink. I will go to the break room and make some tea there. I do not mind at all." Theo reassuredly said before she bowed her head slightly. Then she headed for the door and hurried out.

"What just happened?" Bruce asked as he turned back to Tony.

"Oh, did I forget to mention?" Tony said before he took another long sip of his coffee. "Theo is special. She can touch you and see your most prominent memories and emotion at that time. Depending on how long the touch is, she could see your entire life. So I assume she saw you become the Hulk and your emotions of rage and depression hit her like a ton of bricks."


	7. Shark in the Water

Steve was pacing around the floor. "This isn't right. It shouldn't be like this."

"What? That your crush is will be dead in three days?" Tony asked as he worked on suit improvements. The newest one had gotten beaten up in a flight test the other day. All the other suits he had destroyed in various ways, yes, but he now he needed to create a new one. A better one. Except this time he wasn't exactly going to be the one in the suit… But that would be a while before he would get his machine up and running.

"I don't have a crush on her, Stark," Steve snapped at the billionaire, glancing over in his direction. "It's not right that her father gets to decide whether she lives. He told the damn hospital himself that he wasn't in her life anymore!"

"Okay, so why are you here again?" Tony asked him, glancing up. "I mean, I get it's hard to make friends when your ninety-five, but isn't there another friend you could be talking to about this? I mean, the man's not my employee, he's Norman Osborne's so I can't touch him. Why don't you get SHIELD to help? Aren't you their puppet now?"

"I do missions for them," Steve corrected as he stopped pacing altogether. He gave the billionaire a harsh look. What was up with the billionaire today? Usually he was so willing to help with things like this. "And I already asked. They told me they don't get involved in things like this and that I have no right to either."

Tony sighed as he continued his work. "Well, Capsicle, I don't know what to tell you to do. Other than to go bug someone else with your girl problems."

Just then the door opened to Dr. Bruce Banner and a short redhead. The redhead was walking ahead of the doctor who was looking in her direction with an unsure expression. The woman's hair was curly, stopping just before her waist. She had a round face and moss green eyes. She has freckles over her pale skin and a curvy body with her height of 5'2". And Steve didn't recognize her at all.

"Ah, the lovers return!" Tony said as he sat his tools down and went over to take a Starbucks drink from the tray in the redhead's hands. "I was wondering when you two would get back. I was afraid you two started sucking each other's faces off." The redhead looked unamused… Actually, she didn't have any emotion on her face. She kind of looked bored, either she didn't process Tony's comment or not caring enough to.

"Tony," Bruce chastised before noticing Steve. "Steve, nice to see you again."

"Likewise," Steve responded with a nod to the doctor. "I didn't know you were in town."

"Yeah, it was a surprise for me also." Bruce said, a pointed look towards Tony as he stopped a few feet away from the mystery woman. Tony said something in response but Steve didn't pay much attention. His attention was on this unknown woman, trying to place if he knew her at all. She wasn't looking at him, instead her attention was completely on Bruce, who was chuckling. She looked confused, her eyes furrowing more by the moment. Was she with Bruce? Last he knew, Bruce didn't have a girlfriend.

"Ah, you two haven't met," Tony said as he noticed Steve scrutinizing Theo. "Theo, this is Steve Rogers. Steve, this is Theo Carlyle, she can touch you and know everything you ever have gone through in your entire life. She hasn't got a codename yet because SHIELD doesn't know about her. So, if you aren't SHIELD's puppet you'll keep her abilities hush-hush. Isn't that right, Merida?" Tony asked as he clapped the redhead on the back.

"Mr. Stark," Theo said in slight shock and anger, her cheeks bright red. Still her expression remained unchanged. "You can't just go around telling people what I can do!"

"Oh, it's fine. He's Captain America."

Theo started to respond but stopped, caught off-guard by Tony's sentence. Evidently she was one of those who hadn't made it to the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. This was New York, after all. He didn't expect a lot of people here to have gone to see the new exhibit in the past few weeks. Steve shook his head and walked over to Theo. "Nice to meet you, ma'am."

"Likewise," Theo answered in a small voice, staring at Steve's hand for a moment. "Uh, er, are you sure you comfortable with…?"

"With…?" Steve repeated, uncertain what she meant.

Theo exhaled and glanced up to meet his gaze before she focused on another point in the room as she spoke. "I'll see all the personal things and feel all the emotions you have ever felt. There isn't anything I won't know about your past." She admitted, looking uncomfortable, but she still had that bored look etched into her face. It made Steve curious if that was a permanent thing for her.

"Oh," Steve said, dropping his hand. He wasn't that comfortable with someone he just met knowing all that about him.

"Yeah. Besides, Theo's not huge on human contact," Tony said as he put his arm around Theo's shoulders. Theo involuntarily flinched at the contact. "So brownie points for not accepting it, Cap."

"Then why do you have to keep doing that?" Steve asked as he stepped closer to Tony and swatted his arm from her. "She doesn't enjoy it, so leave her alone."

"Well, how about you—" Tony started to argue back but Theo stepped between the two.

"Mr. Rogers, Mr. Stark, both of you need to calm down. There's no need to fight, not over something as silly as this. Please, not with Dr. Banner in the vicinity. I do not want an… accident to occur." Theo said as she glanced between them.

Steve backed off and walked over to the window, his mind reeling. He didn't know what to think about any of the things going on. He had decided already he wasn't going to let anyone hurt Scottlyn. He knew he would need some help, but Tony was unwilling to help. Now it was clear he would have to do things himself.

"Where are you going?" Tony called after him as he hurried to the door.

Steve paused and turned towards the billionaire. "I'm going to go save Scottlyn's life. She doesn't deserve to die like this. You wouldn't understand." Steve said to him before turning his back and hurrying out.

* * *

 

Steve, resolved to wait at the hospital until Scottlyn's father came around, he had grown tired of waiting. He called her father's assistant but her father never answered Steve's messages. Now Steve was going to visit the man and try to knock some sense into him.

Steve had to restrain himself from rushing into the man's office as he waited in the waiting room of her father's office in Oscorp. It had been a pain to get past the front desk, but ended up pulling some strings with SHIELD to get him in. He was pretty sure SHIELD was getting fed up with him calling in all these favors but he was using it to save someone's life. This was for the best.

How could a man order his own daughter, his flesh and blood, to death? What power did he have to decide her fate? It wasn't fair and Steve refused to stand by and watch as he did. It was a horrible fate he didn't want anyone to go through.

Steve stood and walked over to the assistant's desk after a forty-five minute wait. "Excuse me, ma'am," He said as he approached, using a formal tone. "Do you have any clue when Mr. West is going to return from his lunch break?"

"Mr. West leaves for lunch whenever he pleases and returns whenever he pleases," The assistant answered with slight annoyance. "As I said before, if you don't want to wait, hun, all you have to do is take the elevator and leave."

Steve gave her a 'thank you' and a nod before going back to the seat he had been before sitting in. She didn't have to be so rude to him, he hadn't been rude to her. It's not like he interrupted anything she was doing either; she was just filing her nails. She looked about mid-twenties and had dyed red hair, and he thought she was pretty.

Just then a man turned the corner and approached the desk. He looked maybe in his early fifties with gray, slicked back hair. He was in a fancy suit and was only about 5'8" or 5'9". Steve sat straight up.

"Nerissa," The man said to the assistant. "Who is my 1:30 appointment? I think I might have to cancel because Mr. Osbourne might pop in."

"Well, your 1:30 already canceled." Nerissa answered her boss.

"Fantastic," The man started to walk towards the office door.

"Mr. West, you have a visitor," Nerissa said out to him. Mr. West stopped walking and turned to look at Steve as if he just noticed him. "This is Steven Rogers, the man that's been contacting you about your daughter."

Mr. West didn't say a word as his brown eyes scrutinized Steve. Steve didn't like the man already, his gaze was hard and cold. "See him in, Nerissa." Mr. West turned and walked into his office without another word, closing the door behind him.

"Well, aren't you lucky," Nerissa said as she stood from her desk. "Mr. West doesn't see just anyone. I believe he wouldn't even see his daughter when she came to visit last, and she sat right in front of him in that exact seat you are. Completely ignored her, he did." She shook her head and gestured him to walk over to the door. "Don't do anything stupid to get security called. I have a feeling our guards would be seriously injured." She gave him a smile before she opened the office door.

Mr. West, seated at his desk, was looking at papers and gave no sign he heard them enter. The glass walls on the side of the building let in a lot of light and Steve had to blink a moment before his eyes adjusted. "Mr. West, Mr. Rogers." Steve took a few steps into the office.

"Mr. Rogers, can Nerissa get you something to drink?" Mr. West asked as he continued to flip through the stack of paper in his hands.

"No thank you, sir." Steve responded.

"Nerissa, grab me a coffee. Mr. Rogers, you can take a seat," Mr. West lifted his hand to swat Nerissa away and then to gesture to the seat for Steve.

"Thank you, sir," Steve said as he sat down in the chair. He looked back at Nerissa and she mouthed, "Good luck" to him before closing the door. That was a stark difference than the way she had treated him moments before. Steve looked back at Mr. West to see he had lifted his eyes to look at him.

"So I take it you're the Steven Rogers? The famous Captain America?" Mr. West said in a condescending tone.

Steve stared at him a couple of moments before opening his mouth to speak. "I didn't come here to speak about me, I came here to speak about Scottlyn, your daughter." He answered.

"Yes, I've gotten your many messages. On my e-mail, my work phone, and my personal phone. All in less than a week's time I had to change all three of those which you managed to get your hands on again. I take it was those powerful friends of yours." Mr. West said, a cold expression on his face.

"I thought you would admire someone getting another to do their dirty work for them," Steve said back in a harsh tone. "Just like you're going to let them stop giving nutrients to Scottlyn so she dies." Mr. West went to respond, but Nerissa walked in with his coffee. She gave it to him before leaving, sneaking Steve a smile before she left.

"Why are you so interested in my daughter's well-being, Mr. Rogers?" Mr. West asked as he sat forward. "Scottlyn had done nothing to draw the attention of Captain America. She worked for the governor of New York, yes, but as a PR consultant. She had refused to work at Oscorp because I work here. She was an ingrate."

"She's not dead," Steve snapped. "Stop speaking about her in the past tense as if she is. Are you that ready for her to be dead that you've already become accustomed to speaking about her like that?" Steve didn't pause to give Mr. West a chance to respond. "I saved Scottlyn and a small child from that fire. I could have carried her out first but she told me to save the boy first. She said she would be fine. She was ready to give her life to save him. She doesn't deserve to die this way or whatever you hope will kill her first. All her organs are functioning properly other than her brain. You can't just take her off all those machines and just hope she dies. You would be starving a human being, Mr. West. Your own daughter."

"Tell me, Mr. Rogers, what about the other coma patients in that hospital? Do you spend days with them also? Do you beg their families not to pull the plug?" Mr. West sat forward, banging his fist down on the table. "Scottlyn could be suffering right now and you would want me to let her go through with that than let her go."

"You've already let her go! You were just speaking in the past tense about her!" Steve pointed out.

"Scottlyn and I might not have been on the best of terms when the accident happened, Mr. Rogers, but I know what is best for my daughter. You are a strange man that I have allowed to visit my daughter in the hospital. I could cut off your privileges from seeing her at any time with just one phone call," Mr. West countered as tapped his fingers on his desk. "I do not need a man who shouldn't even be alive himself tell me if my daughter should or should not live."

Steve stared at the man for a long moment before he stood. There was no getting through to Mr. West and Steve saw that now. He wished he hadn't had come today and felt like he had made it worse by coming. He started to leave but then turned back around to look at Mr. West one last time. "You know, I might not know Scottlyn, but I am sure as hell that you do not deserve to call her your daughter. I know you're the kind of man that would've made me save you from the fire first. She doesn't deserve that kind of father." With that, Steve turned and opened the office door. He started to leave when Mr. West's voice stopped him again.

"Like I mentioned earlier, Mr. Rogers," Mr. West began. Steve feared that he was going to revoke his visitation to Scottlyn. "You have powerful friends. You can tell Mr. Stark not to worry… that Scottlyn will remain on the machines."

Steve's shoulders slumped in relief. Scottlyn was safe from her father. Steve didn't turn to say anything to Mr. West and continued walking out of the office. He gave Nerissa a smile before hurrying out. He was going to go see Tony and figure out what strings the billionaire had pulled to make Mr. West keep Scottlyn on the machines.


	8. Ignorance

Theo found herself walking into Stark Industries at eight o’clock in the morning. She had a tray in her hand, as she usually did, with three coffees for Tony (she wasn't sure why he needed three - sometimes they went to waste but it was his money). Except today she had one extra drink, another Calm Brewed Tea, for Bruce Banner.

Her sleepover at Stark Tower the other night had been interesting to say the least. She spent most of the time lying in the way-too-comfortable bed on a floor that she and Bruce had been given. She wasn’t happy that she was going to be on the same floor as Bruce – alone – but it had been insisted upon by Tony since Bruce was a doctor. He had been the one who would wake her up every two hours to make sure she was okay. However, other than that, they didn’t speak to each other, so it wasn’t too bad for her. It wasn't from lack of trying on his part though.

"Uh, well," Bruce said as they stood alone together after Tony had disappeared. "Have... Have anymore effects begun?"

Theo had glared back at Bruce. "We're in the same room. I think you'd know if there were anymore side effects." She then headed towards one of the rooms she decided she would claim.

"You're going to bed already?" Bruce had questioned. She turned and continued giving him the infuriated look .

"You drugged me with a sleeping medicine. You don't think I need to sleep?" And with that she closed the door behind her.

Theo wasn’t quite sure what to think about Tony’s friend just yet. She was a little weary of the fact he was a wanted man – she had done extensive research on the doctor – and that Tony was aiding a fugitive. She knew that a general named Ross that was looking for Dr. Banner. If he were to find out that Tony was helping Bruce, then that would cause Tony some problems - personally and financially. Not that Tony wouldn’t be able to handle it, he was Iron Man after all, but even Tony Stark’s influence and power had a limit. That was proven enough with Aldrich Killian. They had almost failed, Tony most of all.

Another thing that made Theo nervous about the doctor was his powers. If he got his heart rate going too fast even for a moment, he would erupt into a huge green monster. What if he accidentally slipped in a puddle? Would he just shift into the rage monster? The amount of people that would be hurt would be tremendous and all because Tony wanted another playmate.

Then there was the little fact that Theo knew a lot more about Bruce than she should. She had felt his pain, his happiness, and his sorrow. A part of her did empathize with him against her better judgment, but she wouldn’t let herself get near him again. She didn’t want to creep him out. All she could hope for was that Tony was smart enough not to go blubbering about her “gift” to the doctor.

Theo showed her badge to the front desk before continuing to the stairs. She never took the elevators because they were too confining for her. However, as she approached the door to the staircase, he felt her stomach drop. It was blocked off with construction tape and sounds of a jackhammer and saw came from the other side of the door. She felt her breath caught in her throat. What was she supposed to do? She wouldn’t – no, couldn’t – take the elevator.

Balancing the tray on one hand, Theo pulled her cell phone out. She hadn’t even had one before she started working for Tony, but he said he would need to get in touch with her so gave her one despite her initial refusal for one. It had taken her months to get adjusted to the thing, and while she did still loathe it along with any computer she came in contact with, she would begrudgingly admit it had it's moments when it was useful.

“Why, you actually are using your phone, Theodora!” Tony said as he answered the phone.

“You scheduled construction on the stairs on purpose.” Theo immediately stated, trying to keep her voice as even as possible, but she had a feeling it was a bit shaky.

“What? No, why would I do that?” His tone gave enough away to let her know he indeed did it on purpose. Theo felt her heart beating quickly in her chest and tried to think calming thoughts. “Now, I’ve got a Captain up here and I should really—”

“Because you are an evil man.” Theo interrupted before she hung up on her boss and stared at the doors to the stairs. She wondered briefly if she could somehow squeeze past the workers and make her way up that way. Finally she resigned herself to the fact that she was going to take the elevator.

Every step she took to the elevator made her heartbeat become louder and louder in her ears. Since she was an employee, Theo would be able to ride on the faster elevator. Since she was Tony’s personal assistant, she would be able to ride on the Tony’s elevator, which would bring her to any floor in the tower. Hurrying over, she smacked the button and stared at the numbers as the lit up with the passing elevator.

Theo did her best to keep her mind off of it. She instead thought of all the work she would need to do today. Schedule Pepper’s appointments for next week and book her hotel for her trip in Paris later this month. Contact Oscorp for a potential meeting with Pepper. Help set up a dinner party for some rich people for funding.

Ding.

Nobody was in the elevator as expected, so Theo took her time stepping into the cramped space. She turned to face the doors and clenched her fists as the doors slid close. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her heartbeat.

“Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale…” She whispered to herself.

“Miss Carlyle, should I send you to Mr. Stark’s floor?” JARVIS’s voice came over the intercom.

“Yes.” She said through her nose. She felt the elevator began to move and an involuntary flinch escaped from her. Damn Tony to hell, Theo thought to herself as she gritted her teeth.

“Miss Carlyle, are you alright? Your heart rate is—”

“I’m fine, JARVIS.” Theo snapped at the voice. Her fingernails were digging into her palms and her body shaking. She could feel the condensed area around her, feeling like it was closing in on her all at once. Why couldn’t this be over? Why did Tony have to put her through this?

Theo heard the doors open after what felt like an eternity. Unfortunately, it was to let another passenger on.

Bruce Banner’s eyes widened slightly when he saw the redhead looking like she was about to break the tray she held in one hand. Her eyes were wide with craze as if she hadn’t gotten any sleep. Her face crinkled in stress, her shoulders sagged down. He wondered if he should wait until she got off the elevator to get off.

Theo was surprised more than she should’ve been at seeing Bruce Banner there. She stepped towards the left side of the elevator, not wanting to accidentally touch him or the walls of the elevator. He seemed hesitant to get on the elevator at first. She could feel his eyes on her, so she gave him a nasty look, trying to get him to get on the elevator so she could get this ride over with. Seeing her expression must have influenced his decision because he hurried into the elevator.

“Hey,” Bruce said to her, a lightness to his voice. Theo simply nodded in acknowledgment to him before facing forward again. She closed her eyes and resumed her breathing.

“I assume you want to go to Mr. Stark’s level as well, Dr. Banner,” JARVIS said over the intercom, but it sounded as if he was far away to Theo. Her heartbeat was going much faster than she thought was healthy. She heard Bruce say something but it was muffled to her. Her heart sounded like a war drum in her ear. Another sound that seemed like it could not get any closer was the sound of breathing. She wasn’t sure if it was hers or Bruce’s, but it was deafening nonetheless.

Then she heard Bruce’s voice again, and she turned her head in his direction, but he was just a blob. She felt a hand on her arm and then her mind suddenly was in another place. A small shack. A teenage boy with light eyes. The boy winced in pain as he was being stitched up. His wound was long and deep. This poor boy had gone to school and then was attacked on his way home. “You don’t need to walk by yourself again, not when it’s dark outside,” I say to him as his mother rubs his arm soothingly. He more than likely doesn’t speak English, but the tone of my voice got what I was saying across. The boy looks up at me with a half-hearted smile and nods as he responds, but I can’t understand. Still, his tone was soft, so I gave him a small smile in return before I continued stitching him up.

A ding brought her back to the real world, where she saw two brown eyes watching her with worry. Theo instantly pulled her arm away and felt relief flood her when she saw the elevator doors slide open. She hurried through it and went straight for the balcony rather for the door to Tony’s lounge. She sat the drinks down and hurried out the doors. She gasped for air as soon as she walked through the door, not realizing she had been holding her breath. She leaned herself against the railing and tried to calm herself down. Last thing she needed was for Tony to find out she had a near breakdown just because she had gotten into an elevator.

“You okay there?”

She fell over the railing, turning around to see Bruce Banner standing nearby. He had his glasses in his hands, turning them over nervously. Immediately she forced herself to be composed. Straightening her attire out, she looked at him with a blank expression.

“Yes, Dr. Banner. Everything is perfectly okay. I appreciate the concern.” Theo said coldly as she gave him a short nod before heading over to the drink tray. She hadn’t wanted him to see her like that.

“You feel like the walls are going to cave in any moment,” Bruce observed aloud, causing her to pause in her movement. “Like at any moment they’re going to crush you, that there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it.” There was an awkward pause. “Uh, I only know because I used to be…”

Theo turned to look at him with an unchanged expression. “Mr. Stark ordered construction on the stairs. I enjoy the exercise, even if there are a lot of flights.” She insisted, though more to herself than him.

Bruce looked away for a moment. “Sorry for touching your arm back there… Tony mentioned you didn’t like when people touched you.”

Theo’s eyes briefly flashed with annoyance. “Don’t worry about it, Dr. Banner.” She said before she turned back around. She grabbed the drink tray and continued forward, acutely aware of Dr. Banner’s gaze as he followed after her.

“Miss Carlyle?” Bruce called out to her.

“Yes, Dr. Banner?”

“Are you sure you’re fine?”

Theo stopped walking and turned to look at him with a blank look. “Yes, I am perfectly fine. I simply had an overreaction to a little thing. I will survive, Dr. Banner. While your concern is duly noted, it is completely unnecessary and unwanted.” Theo continued walking, a bit agitated that he wouldn’t just drop the subject. Anyone else would’ve, especially with the way she was rude to him.

Theo was acutely aware of Bruce behind her as she headed towards Tony. She had her head turned slightly so she could watch him as she walked. He was looking away from her, a pensive expression on his face. When he turned to look at her, she quickly straightened herself out and began walking faster.

“Ah, the lovers return!” Tony said as Theo entered the room with Bruce right behind her. She glared at him as he sat his tools down. He took his drinks from the tray. Theo proceeded to hand Bruce his tea from the tray, making sure to look at him with a blank expression before looking back at Tony. “I was wondering when you two would get here. I was afraid you two started sucking each other’s faces off in the elevator.”

What was the point of insinuating such a dirty thought? Theo asked, her mind going over the words. Since when had she shown any interest in Dr. Banner whatsoever? They were barely civil to each other (okay she was barely civil to him) and never said more than six words to one another. Never would she say she would be “sucking his face off”; the mere thought was enough to creep her out.

“Tony,” Bruce chastised before Theo saw him look in another direction. Finally Theo took note of the other man in the room… Another unfamiliar blonde. Who was he? “Captain, nice to see you again.”

“Likewise,” The stranger responded with a nod. “I didn’t know you were in town.”

“Yeah, it was a surprise for me also.” Bruce said, a pointed look towards Tony.

“Hey, I am just playing matchmaker,” Tony said, then looked over at Theo. When she didn’t laugh, he frowned. “Oh, come on! I don’t even get a blush?”

Theo rolled her eyes and looked at Tony with a blank expression. “You are the most aggravating, persistent, and unoriginal man I have ever worked for.” She told him as she sat the extra coffee off to the side. “I don’t find you amusing and I am not embarrassed no matter what you say, so you can keep trying in vain if you wish so.”

Tony shook his head. “Tough crowd.” Theo turned her head slightly and noticed Bruce had chuckled at her words. He was cleaning off his glasses, however, and didn’t notice the scrutiny she was giving him.

She supposed Bruce was handsome. Theo wasn’t really sure, since she had never handled anything of the nature. She wasn’t the kind of person to trouble herself with the attractiveness of another. Now seeing Bruce laugh at her words confused her slightly. Her words had been mean, rude, and completely uncalled for. Why had he laughed? She had not meant for her words to cause laughter.

“Ah, you two haven’t met,” Tony said, catching Theo’s attention. She noticed the mystery man had been studying her as she scrutinized Bruce. “Theo, this is Steve Rogers. Steve, this is Theo Carlyle, she can touch you and know everything you ever have gone through in your entire life. She hasn’t got a codename yet. Isn’t that right, Merida?” Tony asked as he clapped Theo on the back. Her vision blurred for a moment as she yanked away from her employer.

“Mr. Stark,” Theo said with irritation in her voice. Why would he tell a man she just met that personal information about her? Working for Tony was really made your secrets be revealed to God and everybody. “You can’t just go around telling people what I can do.” Not to mention Dr. Banner heard that… Theo added silently, looking at the man from the corner of her eyes.

“Oh, it’s fine. He’s Captain America.”

Theo started to respond but stopped, caught off-guard by Tony’s sentence. He was… Captain America? She looked over at Tony, her brow furrowing ever so slightly once again. She wanted to ask so many questions, but she didn’t want to seem rude to the man who saved the world. She didn’t know much about the outside world, just the little stuff she had read in her books and such. She had heard a little about the incident with Loki, but that happened a year before she began working with Tony and while he did have her call fellow Avengers, she had never met any (besides Bruce and Clint – which was a bit odd meeting that Avenger but that is a story for a later day) so she didn’t instantly recognize him.

Theo was surprised when the Super Soldier walked over to her, outstretching his hand to her. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.” He said with a kind smile.

“Likewise,” Theo answered in a small voice, staring at Steve’s hand for a moment. She didn’t want to be rude and reject the human contact. She loathed all forms but didn’t want to disrespect the Captain America. Many would never get this opportunity. “Uh, er, are you sure you comfortable with…?”

“With…?” Steve repeated, uncertain what she meant.

Theo exhaled and glanced up briefly to meet his gaze before she focused on another point in the room as she spoke. “You heard what Mr. Stark said about my powers, correct? I’ll see all the personal things and feel all the emotions you have ever felt. There isn’t anything I won’t know about your past.” She admitted, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

“Oh,” Steve said, dropping his hand. She had to hold in a sigh of relief. She had heard about the man out of time and knew he probably had a lot of pain. She knew after the effects Bruce’s past was having on her these last few days that she definitely didn’t need to touch anyone else for quite a while.

“Yeah, Theo’s not huge on human contact,” Tony said as he put his arm around Theo’s shoulders. Theo involuntarily flinched at the contact. “So brownie points for not accepting it, Cap.”

“Then why do you have to keep doing that?” Steve asked as he stepped closer to Tony and swatted his arm from her. “She doesn’t enjoy it, so leave her alone.” Theo looked in confusion at him. Why would he do that for her? They just met. Unless he was doing it to annoy Tony, which she could actually understand if he was.

“Well, how about you—” Tony started to argue back but Theo stepped between the two. She didn’t want to hear any fights.

“Mr. Rogers, Mr. Stark, both of you need to calm down. There’s no need to fight, not over something as silly as this. Please, not with Dr. Banner in the vicinity. I do not want an accident to occur,” Theo said as she glanced between them. She sighed in relief when Steve backed off and walked over to the window. She knew that Tony would get his ass whipped if he went up against Captain America, so she wanted to most avoid that.

Unfortunately, when Steve moved past her towards the window, he brushed against her. And that was all it took.

Pain. Guilt. Depression. Why couldn’t I save them? Why couldn’t I save Bucky? Why couldn’t I just have abandoned in the icicle? Why couldn’t I save her? Such an innocent person, sacrificing themselves for a child… And I couldn’t even do the decency to save her. I should’ve fought harder. I should’ve saved them all.

“Where are you going?” Tony called out, breaking Theo from her thoughts. Looking up she saw Steve was walking away, making a beeline straight for the door.

Steve paused and turned towards the billionaire. “I’m going to go save Scottlyn’s life. She doesn’t deserve to die like this. You wouldn’t understand.” Steve said to him before turning his back and rushing out.

Theo turned to Tony, her expression serious and grim. “What was he asking you for?” She demanded.

Tony looked at her, his eyebrows raised slightly as he continued working on whatever it was he was doing. “Wanted me to make a call to save his girlfriend’s life. Scott West or something like that.” Tony waved his hand in dismissal.

“That girl from the burning building? It showed her on the news.” Bruce said as he moved to his lab station nearby Tony’s but still not too close.

“Who is she? What happened?” Theo pressed, moving towards Bruce with urgency. He looked surprised at her persistence, and swallowed before speaking.

“She, uh, went into a burning building. She helped evacuate almost a whole floor of people but had to return because one boy was unaccounted for. That was when Steve showed up and saved the day…” Bruce paused, glancing down at his hand. Theo continued staring at him intently, edging him to move forward with his explanation. His brown eyes looked up and saw she was waiting for him to continue. “He saved the boy, but not her. She got burnt pretty badly, and got hit in the head by something. She’s in a coma now in the hospital. At first they didn’t know her name, but I guess they figured it out.” He looked over at Tony now.

“What did he ask you for?” Theo asked as she turned towards Tony again.

“To call her father. Apparently he doesn’t give a shit about his own daughter, so he’s going to get them to take her off of life support. Cap is freaking out because he thinks it isn’t fair,” Tony turned towards her completely now. “Why are you curious anyways, Theodora?” Tony questioned. “Thinking about bringing dishes of food to help Cap get over it?”

“No, because you’re going to call her father as soon as JARVIS finds his information.” Theo looked up at the ceiling. “JARVIS, do a search on Scott West.”

“Yes, Miss Carlyle. All the articles say that her name is Scottlyn West.”

“Well, search her name then. Find her father’s information.” Theo looked back at Tony. He didn’t look too happy. “What is it?”

“Why do you care if she gets life support cut or not?” Tony asked her, his brown eyes filled uncertainty and a slight pout on his face. “And who says I have to do this?”

“I say you are going to do it because that girl doesn’t deserve to die,” Theo said as she folded her arms across her chest. She brushed a couple strains of hair behind her ear. “And I care because Mr. Rogers has nothing else keeping him going. If Scottlyn dies, he’ll feel like he feel and will sink further and further away until he is no longer the man you know. Trust me, I would know.” Theo said, her tone light and small. She exhaled and looked back up at JARVIS, missing the fact that Bruce was watching her. “JARVIS, found anything yet?”

“Yes, Miss Carlyle, I believe I have. Scottlyn West’s father – her only remaining relative – is Henry West, a lawyer on the board for Oscorp.”

“Well,” Tony said as he looked over at Theo. “She’s the daughter of a man who is high up at my competition. If she wasn’t before, irony is definitely a bitch now.”


	9. Friends in Low Places

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, sorry! Also forgot to add a note on the last one, but the updates will begin again. Since school started I got behind with work and school. I'm back now and updates will be weekly, if not a few a week!

“Good afternoon, Steve,” May, the nurse that looked after Scottlyn greeted with a smile. “How are you? You left abruptly yesterday and didn’t return. I was afraid something had happened.”

Steve shook his head and stopped in the hallway so he could speak to her. “I got tired of waiting around for Scottlyn’s father so I went to him myself.”

“You did? What did he have to say?” May asked with anticipation.

“He’s going to keep her on the machines,” Steve said with a happy smile.

“Oh, Steve, that’s good! I’m so glad you were able to convince him,” May answered with a bright smile. “Well, I have to get going. My nephew and I are going to spend some time together.”

“The genuis-level one you mentioned?” Steve questioned.

“Yes, the one and only nephew of mine.” May waved small and started to walk around Steve. “Oh, and honey. Your friend went in to visit Scottlyn a while ago. Pretty girl, if a bit skittish, so I don’t want you to frighten her when you go in. Goodbye, Steve. I will see you tomorrow.”

“Bye, May.” Steve said in response, furrowing his brow. Friend? He knew it wasn’t Natasha because of the ‘skittish’ comment, so who was it?

Steve walked with the sunflowers he held and went over to the door. Pushing open the door, he prepared himself for whoever waited with Scottlyn… And was thoroughly surprised when he saw who it was.

Theo Carlyle… Tony Stark’s assistant.

Steve stopped and let the door close by itself. Theo was standing over Scottlyn’s body, staring down at her face. Theo looked sad and even a little upset. When the door closed, it disrupted Theo and she jumped, facing him. Her face became stone hard and she straightened herself out.

“Ah, Mr. Rogers,” Theo said as she turned to face him. “Pleasure to see you again.”

“Likewise,” Steve said as he put the vase with sunflowers down next to the other bouquets he had bring. He turned to Theo again. “Do you mind if I ask why you are here and how you know about Scottlyn?”

“I heard you speaking to Mr. Stark about her. I thought I could come down here to see…” Theo trailed off, her moss green eyes going back to Scottlyn’s face.

Steve suddenly recalled what Tony had said about Theo. She had powers… She would be able to touch someone and gain their memories. “Tony said you could touch a person and… Er, did you touch her?” Steve asked with a bit of nervousness. He wasn’t sure if Tony was picking fun or if Theo could actually do it. If so, he wasn’t sure how else to ask her to touch Scottlyn to see.

“I did,” Theo admitted after a moment. Her eyes were cast down to the ground. “I didn’t see anything. No one seems to be home up in her head, as if her entire consciousness is gone… So I don’t know anything. I don’t know what it means either. Usually with coma patients I can tell whether they will wake up one day, it's like a humming, but with her nobody's home.”

“Oh,” Steve said in a small voice, looking back to Scottlyn. “Thanks anyways.”

Theo looked up at him with an empty expression. She didn’t have any emotion on her face, even their last meeting she didn't, and kind of unnerved Steve especially because she appeared to be scrutinizing him. “Don’t thank me… I-I accidentally brushed against you the last time we saw each other. I saw how much she means to you.” She finally said to him, her bored expression making him feel as if she was being insincere, yet her voice said otherwise.

Steve now cast his eyes down for a moment before looking back up at her. “How much did you see from me?” He asked out of curiosity.

“Enough to understand you and all you’ve gone through,” Theo responded and he looked back up at her. “I don’t ever mean for it to happen, Mr. Rogers. I-I haven’t ever been able to control it and I wouldn’t have done it if I was able to.”

“It’s fine,” Steve said to her as he studied her closely. She did seem skittish and so unsure about herself, yet she held that air about her that could be mistaken as pride, as if she thought herself above others. He knew that wasn’t the case despite only speaking with her once before now. He didn’t think Theo was like that... Or maybe she was. He wasn't sure, but he thought that maybe someday he would know. She seemed like a loyal person to Tony if the reports of what went down with Aldrich Killian were correct. “Lots of people know what happened to me.”

“But they don’t know how you felt or what you feel now,” Theo pointed out. She exhaled and looked out of the window. “I swore I’d never again step into a hospital.” She murmured before she moved her green eyes back to him. “Depression is a serious matter, Mr. Rogers.”

Steve didn’t argue with the serious matter part, but he didn’t like she was insinuating he was depressed. “I’m not—” Theo gave him a ‘really’ look that caused him to stop speaking for a moment. He looked over at Scottlyn. “She’s the first thing that was away from SHIELD… The first person that I felt a connection to away from all the hectic. I haven’t had more than three sentences between us and I felt – feel – drawn to her. I’ve not even had a real conversation with her. It’s just… It’s not fair she got this.”

“I know,” Theo responded as she picked up her bag. They held eye contact for a couple of moment before Theo spoke again. “I have to get going. Mr. Stark will be expecting me with his coffee anytime now. Good-bye, Mr. Rogers.” She started to leave but Steve stopped her.

“Wait, Theo,” He said and she turned to look back at him. “Tell Tony I said thank you for calling Mr. West… I really appreciate it.” Theo nodded and started to walk out before he stopped her once again. “And Theo… You can call me Steve. You don’t need to call me Mr. Rogers.”

Theo nodded, the same blank and bored expression on her face. “I’ll give Mr. Stark your message. Until next time… Steve.” She walked out then, quickly closing the door behind her. Steve exhaled before he went to take a seat next to Scottlyn’s bed. He picked up The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and began reading to her.


	10. Don't Drink the Kool-Aid

Theo was walking down a hallway in Stark Tower – ugh, _Avengers_ Tower, she just was never was going to get used to calling this place that – with Pepper, going over her itinerary for the day. However, Pepper was sick with the flu, so Theo was mostly talking; she was currently explaining to her boss what they would have to reschedule and her suggestions on which appointments to replace them with or put off at the earliest appointment date.

"I suggest we reschedule him for next week. The governor hates Mr. Stark enough already, so I think the first time we can fit him in or replace another appointment with his would be good." Theo said to her boss.

"Yes, I think that would be for the best. Doesn't everyone hate Tony enough though?" Pepper joked and Theo nodded slightly, taking the sentence very seriously. A lot of people really did hate Tony, but it was only those with power who were either jealous or scared of it. Aldrich Killian was one of those jealous people, Theo would like to think. She hadn't touched Killian fortunately, so hadn't felt the bitterness he held for Tony Stark. If she had… Well, she didn't like to think what would've happened.

She couldn't help the chill that ran down her spine at thinking of the deranged and fortunately deceased man. They had run in to each other three times before his death: once while she was with Pepper, the second when she was with Tony, and the last when she was with Tony and Pepper, when Pepper managed to kill Killian. Fortunately for Theo, Killian was not interested in her the same way as he was Pepper, but once he found out about her power – another moment where Tony had squabbled and tried to make it seem as if she was more powerful than she actually was – he had tried to either catch her dead or alive. Fortunately for her once again, she was with the Iron Man, so she was pretty well protected. She had not a thing to worry about… Except for Tony's well-being. It was her unofficial job that she made sure he had come out of that alive.

The worst part of that whole thing with Killian was when Pepper had "died." Theo would never admit it, but that was the first time since she was thirteen that she felt a crushing wave of grief. Pepper – her boss, the very woman that hired her, that gave her a chance after finding out about her past – was dead. Right before Theo's eyes… Tony had said her job was to get Pepper while he handled Killian. He had trusted her more than any of his Avenger friends to have let her help him with the Extremis situation, even trusted her more than his best friend Colonel Rhodes. And she had in return failed him. She always wondered if he hated her for that, for not being able to save Pepper as she hung off that walkway before she plummeted to her "death." No matter, he couldn't have hated her as much as she hated herself in that moment.

Killian ended up being defeated when Pepper revealed she was still alive because of the Extremis serum in her blood. Then, it all ended happy. The President was saved by Colonel Rhodes, mot of AIM and the Extremis virus had been destroyed, Pepper was alive, and Tony blew up all of his existing Iron Man suits. Theo wasn't sure how she felt about him doing that last thing, because there were still threats in the world that he would need to defend himself against, but he was doing it for Pepper so she wasn't going to question him.

For the first time in forever that night, Theo got a full night's sleep. The next day she had returned to work as if nothing had happened – though a part of her feared they may not want her back – as if her face didn't have cuts and scratches, and helped Pepper and Tony arrange what they needed. Tony had a surgery scheduled to remove the shrapnel threatening to pierce his heart and he managed to get the Extremis in Pepper removed as well. Before they had put him under for his surgery she had been in the room, and that moment had stuck out to her in the past few months.

"Remember to tell Pepper get a good lawyer if this goes wrong." Tony had said to her as he adjusted himself on the table. Theo rolled her eyes and glanced up at the window where Pepper was waiting. The woman was on a last minute business call before Tony's surgery. "I want you to know, it wasn't your fault."

Theo looked back down at him, a confused expression on her face. "Pardon?"

"Pepper's near-death. That's not on you." He said with seriousness. Theo studied him for a moment before she looked away at him and at the entering doctors.

"I never said it was on me."

"Yeah, but you blamed yourself. I saw it." Tony reached out and grabbed her hand, causing her to jump back in alarm but he didn't let go. His feelings rushed towards her and overtook her within a second. She saw everything that had occurred over the past couple of weeks and it caused her to tense up. She had tried to help him back when he couldn't sleep because of the mess that went down in New York with Loki, but it was difficult to fix someone when you couldn't even fix yourself.

After that, Theo had been sent to where Pepper waited to watch the surgery. All was well and soon there afterwards, everything was back to a normality similar to the one before. Except now Theo was working for both Pepper _and_ Tony. She had evidently earned some level of trust with him so he deemed her worthy enough to run his errands and bring him things. Not that she minded, it was something to do that wasn't too bizarre – though at times it had been – for her. Plus now it allowed her to make sure he was okay with just a bit of human contact. She promised herself she wouldn't let him get to the point he had earlier.

"Earth to Theodora, the _best_ personal assistant ever!"

Theo came back to when she noticed Pepper and she had walked into Tony's lab, where he and Dr. Banner were working at a lab station. Pepper was standing nearby, rubbing her temples while Tony flailed his arms, trying to get Theo's attention. Her moss green eyes focused on Tony with an unimpressed look in them.

"Yes, Mr. Stark?"

"Where were you at? La La Land?" Tony questioned as he shook his head. Then he pointed to Pepper. "And she's sick! Why would you allow her down in the lab?"

"Because she is a grown woman with free will." Theo replied dryly before she walked over to Pepper's side. "Ms. Potts, is there anything I can get you?"

"No, Theo, you've done enough already. I think I am going to go rest for a while–" Pepper threw a look Tony's way. "–so you may go home if you wish."

Theo nodded for a second. "Yes, Ms. Potts. If you need me, I am just a phone call away. You know I do not mind helping you at all."

Pepper smiled at her as she stood to her feet. "I know, Theo, thank you. You are the biggest help, unlike some people." She shot a look towards Tony before she headed out of the room. Theo glanced over at Tony before she started to follow after her boss. Why had they come in here the first place? No matter, she would just go home and tidy up her small apartment. She hadn't been home much in the past couple of days since she had gone to the hospital to visit the girl Steve Rogers had been watching over. However, just as she started to leave, she was stopped again.

"Oh Theodora," Tony said in a sing-songy tone, causing Theo to turn with a slight eye roll.

"Yes, Mr. Stark?" She questioned.

"We need a guinea pig." Tony said and she looked at him blankly for a moment. "For an experiment. It was a figure of speech for a test sub—"

"I got that, Mr. Stark." Theo interrupted his elaboration. She glanced at Dr. Banner – noticing he was moving papers to another table – briefly before folding her arms. She hadn't spoken much to the doctor, but his presence caused her to feel uneasy. Perhaps it was the fact he might burst into a big green rage monster and kill them all?

"Tony, we shouldn't ask her," Bruce said as he turned to look at his friend, a worry glint in his eye. "We should really just test it on me; I'm a willing 'guinea pig.' It's going to be uncomfortable for her. Besides, you're the one usually all up for testing on me."

Theo's eyes went back to the doctor and scrutinized him for a moment. He hadn't acknowledged her once since she walked into the room, and now he knew what was going to make her feel uncomfortable? Turning to look at Tony, she made her decision. "What do you need me to do, Mr. Stark?" She asked him, and Tony smirked at her while Bruce frowned in her direction. She pointedly ignored him.

"We are making serums to help Bruce slow his heart rate, so he doesn't burst into the Hulk when his heart rate gets going," Tony explained as he held up a beaker with a dark substance in it. "And here is the first batch. Now usually, as Brucey so kindly said, I would usually test this on him. But, we tested another drug on him earlier that could counteract with this and I wouldn't want him to Hulk out while we're stabbing a needle in his arm. That would be just another task for you to handle."

Theo exhaled and walked over to them. "Well, then we better go ahead and get this done then, shouldn't we? I do hope there aren't any longtime effects on this, there was somewhere I wanted to go after this."

"Well, you may not want to drive for a while, but other than that you should be okay." Tony said as gestured for her to take a seat on the chair in between Bruce and him. With a small sigh she walked over and sat down. He looked at her expectantly. "Well?"

"Well what?" She asked with an agitated tone. She had done as he asked, had she not? So what did he want _now_?

"You need to unbutton your blouse slightly and roll up your sleeves. I have to put these sensors on certain parts of your body." Tony stated, wiggling his eyebrows as he held up the small, black circular sensors. Theo stared at them with uncertainty, this situation feeling all too well…

"Tony—" Bruce started to say, but Theo had already started to roll up her sleeves, showing off all the scars in her arms from needles and over surgical tools. Tony hadn't seen them before, as she always wore long sleeves, but now she felt exposed at her scars being shown to not only him but Bruce. Theo looked up to see both men were watching her skin with shock and pity. The scars, some self-inflicted, weren't too visible, but because there were so many they were hard not to notice. She unbuttoned the top three buttons on her blouse and looked up at Tony expectantly.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" She asked him in an impatient tone. If she showed that she felt bare right now then it would just be another weakness for others to see and she knew all too well showing weakness was not a positive thing.

Tony watched her for a moment, his brown eyes searching hers for something she did not know. Then he started placing the sensors on her. "Theodora?" Tony questioned as he stuck one to her wrist.

"Don't." Theo said in a harsh tone, knowing exactly what he was going to ask. They always asked the same thing and she did not want to answer every time. It was her own business, not theirs.

Tony exhaled, glancing over at Bruce. "Put the ones on her temples and over her heart, will you?" He said before he walked over to a screen. Theo turned herself in the chair to face Bruce. He seemed slightly uncomfortable, but she looked him in the eyes and saw the sadness in his eyes. If not for her powers, she would have thought it was pity. But no, she knew he understood. She had gone through that memory of his, it so prominent in her mind she even dreamed about it.

As Bruce moved to put the sensors on her, she took notice of how nice he smelt. He smelled like some kind of mint aftershave. His hair had grown out a little longer in the past few days he had been here. She couldn't help but wonder how old he was exactly. She knew Tony was forty-five, roughly fourteen years older than her, but she wasn't sure how old Bruce was. She wasn't like Tony; she couldn't read all the files she could get her hands on. It didn't exactly stand out to her while she was in his memories.

"Why would you do that to yourself?" Bruce murmured, pulling Theo from her thoughts, as he placed the sensors on each of her temples.

"Excuse me?" She questioned, uncertain if she had heard him clearly.

"Your skin… It's like porcelain. Why would you do that to it?" He asked her, backing up slightly so they were looking each other in the eyes.

"Some wounds aren't self-inflicted, Dr. Banner. You can't chose if someone else hurts you." Theo responded as she stared at him with an intense gaze, mainly because she was still trying to figure out how old he was. Bruce nodded, his brown eyes showing his pity for her before he continued placing the sensors on her. She didn't want his pity. She had enough of pity in her life, she didn't need it from some doctor who she didn't even care enough to know.

Theo realized how rude her thoughts were. Why did she feel such a strong resentment towards Bruce? She had touched him, she had felt his pain… Maybe it was because of that. She didn't want to know his pain, she didn't want to sympathize with him. She didn't like sympathy or empathy. Those were the two things she loathed most in this world… And she had felt each of those during her contact with Bruce. She wondered how outward she had been of her distaste to him. She had barely known him a week, after all.

When Bruce finished putting the sensors on her, Tony walked over with a syringe and held it up. Theo held in a flinch at the sight, her mind being brought back to the days where needle injections were a daily thing. She couldn't help but stare at the needle, hoping it would suddenly break so she wouldn't have to feel the familiar feeling.

"Shall Bruce or shall I?" Tony asked her.

"It doesn't matter to me so long as you go ahead and do it." Theo answered as she held her arm out in between the two men. She glanced at both of them. "If you did something embarrassing last night and you don't want me to know about it, I recommend you pass on the offer. However, considering I've seen just about everything to know about both of your lives, your embarrassment should probably already be great at the moment." Theo looked over at Tony. "Your college years are particularly cringe-worthy."

Tony snorted and looked over at Bruce. "I'm telling you, her mouth is going to get her in trouble one day." He looked back at Theo. "Aren't _you_ embarrassed you had to go through my memories? I mean, there are some pretty graphic things in there. And I know Brucey here isn't a virgin."

Theo blinked at couple of times, her moss green eyes studying Bruce intently before she slid her gaze back to Tony. "Don't you remember? I don't ever get embarrassed. I never have, and I anticipate I never will."

"Wait, you have confidence? I had no idea," Tony said dryly as he tilted his head slightly. "So you don't feel any embarrassment over seeing the first time I had sex?"

"I believe your own embarrassment of that situation is enough for everyone in America." Theo said and Bruce chuckled. Her eyes flickered to him, slightly shocked she had gotten him to laugh. It was a… pleasant sound.

"Okay, I think it's safe to say I should be the one to do the injection," Bruce said as he took the syringe from Tony. "I don't trust you won't try to hurt her in some way."

"And you wouldn't?" Theo questioned with curiosity before she could stop herself. It was an innocent question, one she didn't realize sounded really bad considering the Other Guy. Bruce froze up for a moment then looked up at her in the eyes. She wasn't sure what he was looking for, but he finally moved his eyes down and gently grabbed her arm.

A lot of memories flashed through her mind, they always went quickly – just in a matter of seconds. It was funny because an hour long memory could last five minutes or sometimes even less. Anyways, now she was getting flashes. Flashes of crying and a cold gun shaking in her hand was what first came to mind; indescribable despair she hadn't felt in so long. Followed by a gunshot and then anger, _consuming_ anger. Then she felt her skin expanding, hurting her. The rage shot out and she began screaming as she began smashing the nearest thing with big, green fists.

Theo blinked twice before her face focused on Bruce's. "Dr. Banner…" She murmured, trying to piece together what she had seen. He glanced up at her before injecting the needle tip into her skin. She stiffened up but kept her eyes on the man in front of her. What had she just seen? Surely it wasn't what she thought it was, Dr. Banner was such a well put together man… But then again, even the strongest of men could have weaknesses.

Theo suddenly felt her heart slowing in her chest. She could barely register Bruce's hand removing from her arm and her blinking got slower. She heard the heart monitor slowing down and could feel her heart get down to where it was barely beating at all… yet she still felt able to move.

"Theodora?" Tony questioned her.

She looked over at her boss and nodded slowly. "I feel… I don't know. The same? But I can feel my heart in my chest," She placed her hand over her heart. "There's barely a beat there. It's... it's like it's n-not even beating."

"What did I tell you?" Tony said, smiling triumphantly at Bruce.

"Yeah, yeah," Bruce said before leaning down slightly so he was eye level with Theo. "Are you feeling any light-headiness? A headache? Dizziness? Nausea?"

Theo shook her head slightly. "No, I feel kind of out of it, though. Like I'm watching everything through a window. You… kind of sound muffled…" She responded, her moss green eyes fixated on his brown eyes. His eyes were so… _attractive_. Or she at least thought they were. She had never really found beauty in anything, though sometimes exceptions came whenever she was out in nature, but Bruce's eyes were so comforting. They had so many emotions rolled into them it made Theo's mind halt and just focus on them.

Bruce cleared his throat. "Theo?" He murmured. She had to blink a few times before she realized both Tony and him were watching her with slight confusion and concern.

"What was that?" Theo questioned back, her eyebrows furrowing.

"I asked if you wanted a glass of water or anything. You're growing pale… and very cold," Bruce said with great concern, making her aware of his resting hands on her arms. She moved her eyes down a moment, blinking in what seemed like was slow motion, before he realized and removed his hands from her. She turned her head towards Tony.

"I believe I'm fine, just… a bit worn out," Theo involuntarily yawned and stared at Tony with her own concern. "Did you take your medicine today? I wasn't here this morning so I wasn't able to give it to you then…" She stood from the stool and stumbled a bit, only to be caught by Bruce. "Thank you." She said, brushing some of the curls out of her face. "Dr. Banner, what was in that serum?" She demanded suddenly, her eyes hardening as she stared into his soft ones with slight irritation.

Bruce's eyes flashed with a briefness of guilt. "Well, Tony…"

"Basically… Benadryl." Tony responded as he popped a blueberry into his mouth. Theo's eyes turned into small slits as she forced herself to stand on her own two legs. She balanced herself before looking over at Tony. "Of course, there were some other components. Don't worry it's mostly safe."

"And what was your ulterior motive for giving me the role of the guinea pig?" Theo questioned sharply, her fists clenching.

"Well, because the drugs are some that we've not tested before, you should stay so Dr. Banner can monitor your progress. We don't want you to die because of a dose of the serum he injected into you. Nasty lawsuits and all." Tony pointed out, causing Theo to glare at him. Theo didn't even waste her time in asking how he knew where she had gone considering she didn't speak one word to anyone about it. He was Tony Stark after all. She was pretty sure he knew whenever she went to buy groceries.

"I am a grown woman," Theo said as she removed her hands from the table, standing herself straight up and looking at Tony with her expression contorted into anger. It was one of the few times Tony had actually seen her without an emotionless mask on her face. "I make my own decisions. You are not even truly my boss, Ms. Potts is. You have no control over what I do."

"Theodora, we are friends! How many times must I remind you? I'm only looking out for _your_ best interests." Tony responded, walking over to her and putting comforting hands on her arms which she immediately smacked away.

"Do _not_ touch me again." Theo snapped at him as she gathered her things up. "I wish you would have actually read everything about me, about those files that all those doctors had on me. Maybe then you'd understand why this was the complete opposite of having 'my best interests' at heart." Theo looked over at him, her expressionless mask back on her face. She cleared her throat slightly, stumbling slightly. "I am going and there is nothing you can do about it. I walk, so that will not be a problem. Goodbye, Mr. Stark. I'll see you next time you call me at three in the morning for coffee."

Theo didn't even bat an eyelash towards Bruce as she left. She refused to acknowledge the man because he had been involved in Tony's plan to get her to stay the night (why the hell was _he_ doing that anyways?). Needless to say, Theo had not liked Tony's best friend so far and hardly doubted she ever would. She wondered briefly, as she headed down the stairs – thankfully the "construction" Tony had done was finished – what he thought of her, if he disliked her as much as she was disliking him. Then, she pushed it out of her mind. The doctor didn't matter to her, he was just one of Tony many friends. She would just have to make it through the rest of his visit and then she was free of him.


	11. The Awakening

It was like any other day for Steve.

He went to the gym early in the morning and got an hour of workout time in before he headed home and took a long shower. The hot water helped soothe his sore muscles that he had gotten from the mission he had been sent on with Natasha. The mission had taken three days in total so he hadn't been able to see Scottlyn since he was out of the country. Even if she wasn't on his mind when he was working, Natasha wouldn't stop questioning him about her.

"So, what do you think of Scottlyn's father? Usually you're supposed to go on a couple of dates before you meet the family, but I suppose your situation is unique," Natasha had said as they left the briefing room. He had shot her a look and she held up her hands in defense. "Sorry, Stark mentioned you were a bit touchy on that subject."

Steve scoffed and continued walking, sparing one glance over at the redhead. "Stark would hardly talk to me about the subject, why did he talk to you about it?"

"His little assistant was talking about it. She mentioned to me that she had to get him to call Scottlyn's father because he didn't want to get involved." Natasha revealed, eliciting a small sigh from Steve. Of course Tony was forced into doing it, he should've known. Well, he was going to have thank Theo next time he saw her. He felt bad that he hadn't realized and thanked her last time he saw her in the hospital.

Natasha hadn't dropped the subject of Scottlyn for what seemed like forever. And when he finally did get her to stop, she started talking about him getting a girlfriend. Natasha and he had been spending time together lately, and out of all the Avengers he would say she was his closest friend, but he wasn't looking for love. His attention was focused on doing missions and making sure that girl in the hospital stayed alive.

Needless to say, when Natasha and he parted ways, he breathed a sigh of relief. For now, at least, he had avoided her urging for him to go on a date with someone.

Now, Steve was walking through the hall with a bouquet of sunflowers in hand. He took the elevator up a couple of floors, thankful only one other person was in elevator and seemed busy on their phone to even pay attention to him. As soon as the elevator dinged, Steve hurried off and began to make the familiar trek to Scottlyn's room. He was ready to relax a bit after the mission and he believed that reading _The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_ to Scottlyn would relax him. Plus, he hadn't been to Scottlyn's room in three days and he needed to see her again to make sure she was okay. He had worried over her the entire time he was gone despite the kind nurse May saying that nothing would happen while he was away. Why _wouldn't_ he worry? Scottlyn was in a vegetative state, there was no telling if she was going to wake up or not… Or if something bad would happen… _No, I won't think of that_ , he thought firmly to himself as he neared closer to her room.

He walked into her room… And was surprised to find it wasn't Scottlyn in the bed. It was another patient – an older blonde woman who appeared in her forties – who looked at him in bewilderment. What was going on? Why wasn't Scottlyn in the room? Had the bad thing he refused to think about come true?

Steve apologized quickly to the blonde woman before rushing out. He felt like he was being squeezed to death, his heart beating a million miles in his chest. He could barely manage to form a coherent thought. Had they pulled the plug on her? Had her father gone back on his word? Or did her body give out? No matter what happened, he hadn't been there for her, he had left her once again and it had proven to have consequences.

As Steve stood outside the room, his hands squeezing the bouquet so tightly he thought it would rip the stems in half. A familiar voice pulled him out of his reverie, causing him to look up in slight alarm. He spotted the nurse, May Parker, that usually attended to Scottlyn speaking with another nurse. He didn't waste another moment before he rushed over to her. He knew it was rude of him to interrupt her conversation, but he felt like his entire body was a live wire. "Where is Scottlyn West?"

May Parker looked at him, an unreadable expression on her face. Her eyes were a mixture of emotions that he couldn't decipher no matter how hard he looked. "Steve, you didn't leave your number so I didn't know how to reach you…" She said, her voice shaking slightly but not giving anything away to him.

"Please tell me they didn't—" Steve couldn't finish his sentence.

"No, sweetheart," May gave him a small smile as she reached out and grabbed his hands that were still wrapped tightly around the bouquet. "Scottlyn was moved to another room… She woke up. She woke up from her coma."


	12. Serendipity

Steve felt like he was going to barf. This was going to be his first time officially meeting Scottlyn and he had to admit he was pretty nervous. He didn't remember being this nervous since… Well, in quite a while.

Never had he ever allowed him the hope of Scottlyn waking up from her state. He had lost far too many before and it was the smallest sliver of hope that was the hardest to deal with if things didn't work out. The only time he felt a brief flicker of hope was when she moved the first time he was reading _The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_ , which of course became a regular occurrence, but the first time it happened was the hardest. He had thought that maybe she _was_ waking up, that she was going to open her eyes and look at him and say, "I forgive you." He knew that he was hoping a little too much at the time, but he couldn't help it. After that, he had refused himself the hope. It was such a crushing thing to have to deal with if she had never woken up. But now she had, and here he was.

May had gone before him to ask Dr. Strange's permission, which May said he gave very reluctantly and only because Scottlyn insisted upon seeing him. Before he was allowed to go back, however, Dr. Strange had paid him a visit.

"Mr. Rogers, was it?" Dr. Strange said as he walked over to Steve who stood at the nurse's desk.  
"It is, Dr. Strange." Steve answered back, his eyes flickering down to the doctor's hand. He was offering it for a handshake, and it took Steve a moment before he decided it was the best thing to do. He shook the man's and before looking back up at him. He had already asked May a lot of questions about when Scottie woke up (it had been yesterday, early in the morning when May had been opening the curtains) and her health. May had answered that Scottlyn was a bit roughed up, but for the most part she was okay. Still, he couldn't help but ask the doctor's opinion. "How is she?"

"She fairs quite nicely," Strange answered back, glancing where May Parker went into Scottlyn's room. He looked back at Steve with weary green eyes. "But… she has requested no visitors. I suspect because of her father, but she wouldn't say it for sure. When I asked her about you visiting, she was completely fine with it. I admit, I was a bit shocked. I personally don't think it's a good idea."

Steve was taken aback and slightly angry. "Why wouldn't it be a good idea?" He demanded.  
"Because Scottlyn is in a frail state, mentally and physically. She didn't exactly come out of the fire unscathed," Strange responded with just as much authority in his voice. "She has burns all over her body, some that will always be there, and she had to be given a sedative because she was upset. She's calmed down a lot since then, but she was not okay before. I think she just needs to have a couple people attending to her, May and I, and not have any others interacting with her until we can get her completely relaxed."

Steve was silent for a moment, his gaze moving away from Strange's. "I… I won't go to see her if you don't think it's wise." He finally said, though he loathed every word coming out of his mouth.

"No, of course I don't think it wise, but I also don't think it's wise to tell the girl you're here then not have you show up. She threatened to call the governor and to get my medical license revoked when I started to tell her I wasn't going to allow it before." Strange said with a light chuckle before he turned serious again. "Room C302. Don't push her too hard, Mr. Rogers." He said before he walked away without another word.

Steve had watched Dr. Strange leave before he headed over to the room that he had been told. He stood in front of the door for a long time, thinking things over and what he would say as he tried to get himself under control. Finally, he brought his fist up to the door and tapped ever so slightly.

After he knocked on the door, he heard a soft "come in" so he did. He walked in, the corner at first blocking his view of the bed, but he saw May standing nearby. When he turned the corner his eyes found May's and she was smiling at him. Finally his eyes found the girl in the bed. Her beautiful, brown almond shaped eyes watched him with curiosity. Her brown hair was a bit frizzy and, in comparison to the bed, she seemed to be such a small thing; she looked so skinny and frail. Nonetheless, with her tan skin and soft eyes, she looked beautiful. He suddenly got the urge to turn and run out of the room, but he forced himself to stay put. He had come this far, now was not the time to back out.

"Hi," The girl spoke in a soft voice, a small smile showing up on her face. Her eyes lit up with recognition when she saw him. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

"He—" He cleared his throat, unable to get a word out. "Hello." He waved to her. He was extremely nervous, and not because she was beautiful (though she really was), but because he didn't know what to say to her. He couldn't save her before, and now she was in the hospital. He hadn't done enough to save her. "I got… flowers." He said as he held up the bouquet.

"I see that, thank you. Now why don't you come further in? I don't bite… Well, not too hard," Scottlyn teased with a soft smile to him. May chuckled and watched the two with a smile. He smiled nervously, glancing over at May, and took a few steps in.

"I will leave you two to talk," May said, patting Scottlyn's arm. "If you need anything, sweetheart, just press that button and I will be here in a moment's notice."

"Thank you, May. You are too kind."

"Oh, don't worry about it, sweetie." May smiled at her fondly before passing Steve on the way out, giving his arm a small squeeze before taking the bouquet of flowers. She sat them with the others before leaving. The only sound for the next couple of moments was the door closing behind May.

Steve wasn't sure where to look, and he didn't want to weird her out by staring at her, so he kept his gaze down. What was he supposed to say to her? He wanted to apologize for not being able to get her out of the fire sooner, but he was at a loss of words.

"Why don't you sit down?" She asked finally, her voice a bit cracked. He looked up at her to see she was gesturing to the chair beside the bed. "Sorry, my throat is sore."

"Uh, yeah. Thank you." Steve nodded as he walked over and sat down on the chair as she took a sip out of a glass of water. He looked up to see she was watching him with a bright smile. He stared at her with uncertainty. Where was her anger? Why hadn't she thrown him out already? "I'm… I'm Steve Rogers." He introduced himself, but was still unsure of what to do.

"My hero." She said as she sat up on the bed and turned to face him. She held her hand out to him, her expression still warm and friendly. Her brown eyes seemed to be lit up and it confused him further. What was up with this girl? "Well, my hero, my name is Scottlyn West, but I prefer to be called Scottie, if you don't mind."

"No, not at all." Steve said as he reached out and shook her hand. Her skin was scarred, he could feel some of the burns closer to her wrists. "Pleasure to meet you, ma'am." He said, giving her a smile. It made her smile grow even wider.

"You also, sir." Scottie laughed and they held onto each other's hand for a moment. They stared at each other, both studying the other and admiring the other... Or that was what Scottie was doing (and she had to say he was quite good-looking). They let their hands go at the same time and Steve couldn't help the slight blush he got. Scottie brushed her hair behind her ears. "You don't have to call me ma'am. I find it incredibly sweet and endearing, but _you_ saved _my_ life. If anything, I should be the one respectful to you, Mr. Rogers."

"You can call me Steve," He responded quickly then nervously laughed. He looked down at his hands for a moment. "I don't mind, but, uh, I didn't quite save you. You fell through the floor and then got hit in the head before I got to you."

Scottie gave him a serious look, confusion and a frown marring her face. "Thank you, Steve, but you _did_ save me. I would have died _twice_ without you and for that I am going to be in your debt for the rest of my life," Scottie said as she looked down at her arms. Burn marks from the fire were still there. Steve's eyes caught them but he didn't comment on them. She looked as if she had just been through hell, if he were honest. Instead of pale skin, she still had a tan tone to her skin, making him believe she had naturally tan skin.

"I did what any person would have." He said as he looked back up to her face.

Scottie looked over at him. "Steve, would any person have gone back in when it seemed hopeless? I don't even know if _I_ could've made my way through the flames like you did. It's like you're a superhero." She gave him a sweet smile that made him actually believe her words.

Steve chuckled nervously once again. Only if she knew… or did she? May could have told her… Then again, May was good with keeping the secret. "I couldn't save you completely, though. You still were in a coma and your skin…" He trailed off as his eyes went to her arms.

"Yeah, but I'm still alive," Scottie responded as she ran her hands over the skin. "Dr. Strange said I could get skin grafts… To make it the way it was before…" She sighed and looked over at him. "But they say scar remind us that our past is real. A part of me feels like they're a good reminder. Plus, skin grafting is costy."

She wasn't acting mad at him, and that's what confused Steve the most. She was grateful, but shouldn't she blame him for her burns? He was completely caught off guard and didn't know what to think. Why was she asking for _his_ advice?

"I think that's a good idea, there's nothing wrong with it." Steve said, then he dropped his head down. "I'm sorry I didn't get there sooner, maybe if I had—"

"Don't apologize for any of this, Steve. None of it was your fault. Trust me, I do not blame you in any sense and am completely grateful for what you've done for me," Scottie said and he looked up when he felt her hand on his. She still had that sweet smile on her face, then her eyes went down to the book in his hands. Her eyes brightened as well as her smile. "May said you read to me while I was in a coma. She also said you visited and brought all of these flowers for me." She looked around the room that was filled with all the flowers he had brought.

"Yeah, May told me when I first started visiting that sometimes coma patients can hear while in a coma. I hoped maybe it could help you." Steve said as he held up the novel.

"Well, _The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_ is one of my favorites, so I think it definitely helped me find my way back here. Thank you, Steve." Scottie looked around the room before her gaze came to the sunflowers on the bedside. She ran her fingers over one of the flowers and pulled it out from the vase. She brought it up to her nose and smelled it. "Sunflowers are my favorite flowers."

"Really?" Steve asked as he glanced around the room, now sort of wishing he had gotten all sunflowers. But, then again, all the flowers were nicely arranged and were diversified. He had brought flowers twice a week, not want to seem weird. There were eight bouquets around the room which let him know that no one else had sent her flowers, which he was a little perturbed at. He didn't expect it from her father, but didn't she have other people that cared for her? He hadn't even had a real interaction with her and had gotten her a different kind every day because he wasn't sure what kind she liked.

"Really. There's something so natural and unique about their beauty." Scottie got a thoughtful look on her face for a moment before she looked at him, holding the sunflower out to him. "I realize that this was yours originally, don't judge me, but will you accept it as a token of my thanks? Unless you want the pudding cup that comes with my lunch. You could have that if you wanted." She said with an amused expression.

Steve chuckled and took the sunflower. "The flower is fine. Thank you, Scottie." The name fit her, he decided. He wasn't sure why, but he liked seeing her as a Scottie more than a Scottlyn.

"You called me Scottie." She said, her smile broadening. She looked down at her lap sheepishly, tucking a few pieces of hair behind her ear. "Sorry, it just feels surreal. I feel like I've seen you somewhere before and…" She cleared her throat, shaking her head. "Anyways–" She turned to face him again. "–is there any way I could convince you to still read to me? To at least finish out the book? I mean, you don't have to, by any means. You don't owe me anything; if anything it's me that owes you, but I just thought maybe… I'm going to shut up now." She laughed nervously and moved her eyes away from his.

"I'd love to read it to you." Steve said as he opened the book to where he had left off. "It's been years since I read it." He thought back to the years he had lost. Seventy years, all of them spent frozen. He swallowed and exhaled. He should be happy, Scottie was awake. This was what he wanted and he was not going to spoil it by thinking of bad memories from the past.

"Thank you, Steve." He looked up at her to see she was watching him with a sad smile. She had settled back into her bed, but put herself at an angle where she could still see him. "I would have died if not for you and I don't think I would've woken up if not for you." He smiled back at her before he looked down and began reading to her.

What he didn't know was she was in her own turmoil as well. Scottie's thoughts were on a certain Norse God and the fate that had befallen him. She knew that had to have been real, everything that she had gone through in the past couple of weeks. It was just all too lifelike not to be… But now that she was back on Earth, a part of her was scared that maybe it was all a dream. She had been in a coma, it was feasible…


	13. The Hatchet

Theo sat behind her desk, typing away at her computer at a furious rate. She was finishing up the final draft of Pepper's schedule for her trip in Paris next week. It had changed around because of cancellations (one of the things Theo hated most in the world). It was already hitting a late hour but Theo had promised herself she would finish it by the end of the day, so here she was making sure everything was perfect as usual. She tried to take as much stress off of Pepper as possible considering she had to deal with Tony Stark more than Theo did. Theo was still unsure how Pepper had not gone crazy yet.

Unfortunately, Theo was working in Stark Tower so Tony knew she was in the building. Where else would she be? She hardly worked at her home and considering she had effectively avoided him the past couple of days by doing other work for Pepper, she knew he would show up at any moment.

She wasn't ready to see him yet. He had used the serum Bruce and he had come up to drug her so she would stay at the Tower, and truthfully she felt like it was a breach of their relationship. He had made her uncomfortable with having her bare her scars and then trying to get her to stay at the Tower when he knew that's the last place she would want to stay. He knew she was a creature of habit and springing a visit on her at the last minute was uncalled for. Drugging her just so she would stay the night was uncalled for and disgusting. She wasn't sure why he was trying to get her to spend more time around the Tower lately but it was getting on her nerves.

Footsteps coming down the hall towards her registered in her mind but Theo was furiously working on the itinerary for Pepper. She didn't want any distractions and was glad she had locked her office even if Tony would eventually be able to find his way in here eventually. However, he wouldn't have any help from JARVIS. She had already asked him to ensure that Tony was to not bother her and if he came knocking to turn him away. It was his tower, but Pepper had agreed it was the thing to do so Theo could actually do the job she was hired for.

A soft knock came from the door. Theo ignored it knowing full well had it been Pepper JARVIS would have unlocked the door already. She continued typing on her computer, doing her best to not think about Tony on the other side of the door. The way he had treated her was terrible and she didn't want to have to listen to him grovel.

"Miss Carlyle has requested to be left alone by anyone except for Ms. Potts."

"Can I speak to her for a moment? Please?"

Theo's eyes snapped up to the voice that came from the other side of the door. It certainly was not Tony's, but his partner in crime, Bruce Banner. What was _he_ doing here? Theo had been sure that Tony would have shown up, not Dr. Banner.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Banner. I do not believe Miss Carlyle is in the right spirits to speak to you or Mr. Stark."

"Will… Will you tell her that I'm sorry? And that she won't have to ever worry about Tony bugging her about being the test subject again and not to worry about me invading her work space again."

"Yes, Dr. Banner."

Theo heard a sigh escape from Bruce and she leaned back in her chair, her mind racing. _He had shown up before Tony to apologize,_ Theo noted. She knew Tony had pride issues, but she had expected him to give that up to apologize her for the way he acted. She thought that when he said he considered them friends that it meant something coming from him but he couldn't even show up to give her the much deserved apology.

"Thank you, JARVIS."

Before Theo knew what she was doing, she had stood and crossed the room. She hesitated for a couple of seconds before unlocking the door and opening it to see Dr. Banner's retreating form halfway down the hall. When he heard the door open, he paused and glanced over his shoulder with his brown eyes.

"Um, why don't you come in for a moment?" Theo asked him her gaze not wavering from his. "I've got some tea in here." She added after a moment's pause.

"I'd like that." Bruce said as he turned towards her. She turned her back and retreated into her office, going over to the tray that held a kettle and two glass cups. She poured tea into the unused cup as Bruce walked into the room.

"Have a seat, Dr. Banner." She offered, gesturing to the seat in front of her desk. Tony had given her an office to work in after-hours so she didn't have to be in a wide open space when it was dark all around her because everyone else had gone home. She didn't quite understand it herself since it didn't bother her to be alone and certainly not in the dark but he insisted upon it. "Would you like honey in yours?" She looked up at Bruce as he took a seat in the leather chair.

"Yes, please." Bruce responded, his brown eyes only meeting hers for a moment before jumping away. Theo stirred his tea up for him before handing it over to him, their fingers brushing slightly. She got more flashes from him, more recent. _Regret. Why does she look like she's in a zombie-like state? She never smiles and her eyes seem like their dead… Not when Tony used the serum on her though. She was livid, lines etched in her face. Her eyes didn't have anger in them though, at least not much… No, they had hurt in them._

Theo blinked twice, her gaze meeting Bruce's again. He had yanked his hands away from her. "I'm sorry, I forgot that you… I-I wouldn't have risked touching you if I had—Um, sorry."

Bruce looked down at his glass and swallowed hard. Theo didn't respond as she walked and sat behind her desk and continued working. They sat in silence for the longest of times, both waiting for the other to speak up. Finally Theo finished with the itinerary and hit print. Just as she stood to go get it, Bruce had begun talking, but fell silent when she continued walking over to the printer. Once the papers had printed out she went back over to her printer and emailed Pepper that she had finished and could give her a hard copy of the schedule… And that Bruce was in her office.

Pepper's response came almost instantly. " _Bruce?_ " It wrote. " _He's in your office? What does he want?_ "

Theo wrote back, " _No clue. He hasn't said a word in five minutes. I've been working and waiting for him to say something_."

" _Well, you say something then. Take initiative, Theo_." Pepper answered back. Theo would take initiative, but she had no clue how to interact with Bruce. She knew a huge hunk of his life but she still didn't know how to talk to him, how could she? Despite seeing all of those personal moments she felt like she didn't actually know a thing about him. Besides, _he_ sought _her_ out. He should be the one struggling to start a conversation.

"If you're working I can go…" Bruce finally said, breaking the awkward silence. Theo's gaze darted to his.

"I'm no longer working, I just finished. I was waiting for you to speak up considering it was you who sought me out." Theo said, applauding herself for keeping her voice its usual neutral and flat voice.

"Oh," Bruce's gaze dropped once again to the glass in his hands. "Um, this is nice porcelain you have here."

Theo looked down at the white cup in his hands that had pink and purple flowers painted on it. "Thank you. They are a family heirloom." Theo said, taking a sip of her own glass. Theo glanced over at her computer screen to see that Pepper had emailed her again.

" _How's it going? He talking yet? He made any unwanted declarations of admiration?_ "

" _He's asking about the China I poured his tea into. Hardly the stuff of Shakespeare_."

"Do you have any siblings?" Bruce questioned but one look from Theo sent him backtracking. "Uh, sorry, I shouldn't have asked. I don't know why I did, I just…" He cleared his throat. "I should probably just get the reason why I came down here out already. I'm sorry that I let Tony give you that serum. He assured me you'd be fine with sleeping in the guest quarters or in the lab where we could make you a makeshift bed so you could stay hooked up to the machines to be monitored. Still, I should have checked with you personally before I went through with any of it. I don't know what got into Tony's head, but I apologize."

Theo stared at Bruce for a long moment, his brown eyes meeting hers and staying there. She was surprised his gaze didn't shy away like it had the other times. She knew it might make him uncomfortable, but she couldn't help but stare at him as her mind processed his apology. He seemed genuine about the whole ordeal and she actually found herself believing that he had no clue Tony had ulterior motives. As much as she didn't want to admit it, the fact he was willing to apologize to her face when one of the two people she was closest to in the world didn't even attempt to come give his apologies was enough to make her consider forgiveness.

"I accept your apology, and I forgive you."

Bruce sucked in air as if he was surprised. "Thank you, Miss Carlyle." He said in a low, soft voice. His eyes were kind, too kind. He was either the type of man who was a snake in the grass or was a genuinely good man. If it was the former, Theo did not wish to be surprised.

"It was more for me than for you, Dr. Banner. Life's too short to hold onto hate," Theo responded, taking the last sip of her tea. "However, I am surprised you showed up before Mr. Stark."

Bruce looked away. "Yeah, um, Pepper though it best if Tony stayed away from you for a few more days so JARVIS was ordered specifically to not even let Tony be on the same floor as you."

Theo scoffed slightly, shaking her head but grateful for Pepper. "I suppose I owe her my thanks then."

"He nearly hoped in one of his Iron Man suits and flew over here."

"I would've dropped him on his tail in two seconds had he even tried to apologize." Theo stated, the corner of her mouth pulling up ever so slightly. Bruce's eyes went down to it and a smile tugged at his lips. Theo instantly dropped her lips and turned back to her computer. Why did he smile at her like that?

" _Theo, what's going on? He isn't bothering you is he? Wait, this is Bruce we're talking about. He wouldn't bother a fly_." Pepper had emailed her a minute ago. Theo exhaled and typed up a quick response.

" _Everything is okay. He apologized and I forgave him. I'm shutting everything down and will leave the itinerary on your desk for you to review in the morning. Should anything change, I will update it for you_." I wrote back.

" _You're the best, Theo. I'll see you tomorrow_."

Theo shut down her computer and looked back over at Bruce. "Was there anything else I could help you with, Dr. Banner?" She asked him, uncertain why he was still here.

"Oh, no, not that I can think of." Bruce said, finishing off his tea before standing. He sat the cup back on the tray and took his glasses off of his face, fumbling with them in his hands. "Uh, I know you said you forgave me, but I truly am sorry about what happened still."

"Thank you." Theo said, giving him a small nod as she stood up at her desk. She stared at him a moment, admiring his tan skin and dark eyes. His hair had grown out longer than when she first met him and were growing into small curls. Theo noticed he hadn't shaved in a day or so and had scruff on his face. She noticed he had bags under his eyes. "Have you not been sleeping the past few nights?" She asked him before she could stop herself.

"Uh, no, I haven't been. Was it the bags under my eyes or my unbalanced walk?" He questioned with a low chuckle as he rubbed his eyes with his free hand.

"The bags were the major giveaway," Theo stated with a bit of empathy, glancing down to see his clothes were a bit crinkled and eyes were a bit bloodshot. "Do… Do you want to talk about it?"

"It's just taking some time to getting adjusted to the city sounds after being used to just insects outside of the hut." Bruce admitted.

"Where were you before you came here to visit Tony?" Theo asked him.

"Calcutta," Bruce responded, rubbing the back of his neck. "Some… interested parties were closing in so SHIELD suggested I move on. Tony wanted me to visit plus he had some ideas for some serums to help me control the Other Guy." Bruce spoke with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"You don't think the serums will work?"

Bruce sighed, shaking his head slightly. "I've tried serum after serum over the years. I don't think we will find one that will completely help."

"I'm sorry," Theo murmured and Bruce looked up at her. "I know how frustrated you feel over it. How you feel about the Other Guy in general… Um, sorry I shouldn't have said that. It's not right I should be sharing your personal thoughts like that."

"It's fine, Theo. You can't control your power either and you can't exactly avoid physical contact with someone forever." Bruce assured, giving her a smile.

Theo nodded and brushed a few of her curls behind her ear. "So you help people around the world?" She asked him as she got the things on her desk in order.

"Yes, I do my best to."

"That's admirable, helping people like that. I was going to go to med school—" Theo stopped herself, realizing she was getting a little too personal with Bruce right now. "Uh, your tea, did you like it?" She was desperate to change the subject to anything else.

"Yes, very much so. It had the right amount of honey in it," Bruce commented. "Thank you for it."

"It was the least I could do." Theo said as she finished packing up her bag. She picked up the tray that had the tea stuff on it. "Well, I better go clean these up and then I will be going home. It was… nice talking to you, Dr. Banner."

"It was nice talking to you too, Miss Carlyle."

"You might as well call me Theo. Pepper and Tony do it all the time and eventually it will slip into your vocabulary." Theo pointed out to him.

"You can call me Bruce then." He said as he walked over to the door and held it open for her. She slipped her bag on her other shoulder before walking out the door. She turned the see Bruce switching the lights off and closing the door behind him.

"Goodnight, Dr. Banner."

"Bruce. And goodnight to you, Theo." Bruce stated with a small smile.

"Get some sleep. I know the transition is hard at first, but you'll grow used to it in no time." Theo said to him with a small wave before she walked into the break room for employee's right down the hall.

"Oh, Theo?" Bruce said from the door of the break room. She paused in the midst of washing out the kettle to look back at him. "Tony wanted me to tell you that the girl, Scottlyn West, she woke up from her coma." And with that, Bruce was gone.

Theo heard Bruce walk down the hall and get on the elevator. The moment she heard the elevator doors close she let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Did she just have a civil conversation with Dr. Bruce Banner? She would have to watch out when she walked outside tonight because she was sure it was raining cats and dogs after that one.

Another thing Theo couldn't get out of her mind was the girl Scottlyn. She had awoken from her coma? Theo knew that she had no reason to go see the girl but there was a pit in her stomach about the girl from the moment she visited her while she was still under. Something was wrong with the girl, Theo knew for sure, and she had to find out.


	14. Achy Breaky Headache

_Scottie opened her eyes to see she was laying down on a floor, staring at a white ceiling. She quickly sat up and found herself looking at a see through, golden barrier. On the other side, there was a break for a walkway before there were other rooms; they were empty… except for the odd-looking people in them._

_The people looked like they were straight out of_ Lord of the Rings _. They were in armor and had that old-timey look to them… if that made sense. One had horns and discolored skin, glaring at one of the other men in the same room as him. Scottie moved her brown eyes away from him and swallowed. What kind of dream was this?_

_"And who might you be?"_

_Scottie cried out as she instantly jumped to her feet. She turned towards the voice, but at first did not take notice of the person. Instead, she took notice that this room was nicely furnished, especially considering the other rooms. However, when her eyes found the bed, she was greeted with a familiar looking man._

_He had sleek black hair that went to his shoulders. He wore a green shirt and black jacket over it, then black pants and moccasins. He looked very… regal? She wasn’t sure of how to describe the attire he wore. It was beautiful fabric, but nothing you would see in the twenty-first century. Her eyes went back to his face; he had pale skin and bright blue eyes. He had killer facial structure with his cheekbones and jawline. He was certainly a handsome guy… That thought jarred Scottie’s thoughts._

_Her ex-roommate had been crazy over this guy. She had gone nuts over him, talking about how good-looking he was. This man was the very one who had launched an attack on Earth, specifically New York. The very one the Avengers had taken down and caused a huge controversy with (there were those mutants that had been causing controversies for years, but evidently government hired heroes were more “acceptable” than mutants that were just trying to peacefully co-exist)._

_What had the news said this guy’s name was again? Ugh, it took her the entire first semester of college to learn her ex-roommate’s name, no_ way _would she remember his. However, she did remember the dark hair and green attire of his. People had dressed up like him for Halloween, though they mainly stuck with the Avengers, as the heroes who had managed to put a stop to him were called._

_Holy crap!" She snapped, running her hands through her hair. "Who the hell do you think you are?!"_

_"Excuse me?" The man glared at her, but she honestly didn’t give a crap._ He _had scared_ her _. "Last I checked, this was_ my _cell, which you seemed to have just appeared into."_

_"Oh, well... Still!" Scottie folded her arms, her face contorting into a scowl. "That's no cause to scare someone out of their mind! I didn't mean to pop into your bloody cell." She moved away from him to the clear barrier. He had called this his cell… Was he a prisoner? She tensed up when she realized he was a criminal. She was stuck with a criminal… Unless there was a way to get out? "What is this place? Why am I here? How did I get here?” She turned so she could still see him out of the corner of her eye, not trusting him whatsoever.  
_

_"I wouldn't recommend touching that wall, unless you enjoy being shocked.”_

_Scottie turned towards him with narrow eyes. "You attacked my home planet, dim-wit, don't give me advice."_ Even if it's useful _, she added silently._

_"Oh, I should have guessed you are a Midgardian by your... attire.” She looked down at her blue jeans, long sleeved thermal shirt, and converses. She looked back up at him, slightly offended._

_"What's wrong with my attire? Besides, you don't look too ravishing yourself with all of that product in your hair," Sheturned sideways once again so she could look out of his cell. She craned her neck and saw guys in gold armor with swords standing at a set of stairs. “Hey, guards? Guys, over here! Hello!”_

_After five minutes of that, she heard the man behind her sigh in irritation._

_“I do not believe they can hear you.” He snapped. Scottie turned back to face him completely, folding her arms over her chest and a scowl on her face._

_"Where am I?" She demanded from him, pissed at his attitude. She would yell at the guards for hours if she wanted to._

_"You're in Asgard."_

_“What?” Her head snapped to him. Had she just heard him right? Surely she didn’t. He had to have been lying._

_"Did I stutter?"_

_"No, smart ass," She snorted, glaring at him with disdain. "But Asgard is a myth in Norse mythology. I’ve heard stories from when I was in school, and I'm sorry, but I simply don't believe that this is happening. This must be a dream,” She turned back to the walls. "If this is a dream, then I should wake up any moment! I mean, I have to be asleep right now… I-I… Oh,_ shit _.”_

_Scottie’s thoughts had all snapped back into place. She wasn’t sure why she hadn’t remembered before now, but now the beam falling on her was the only thing on her mind. Her heart began beating faster and she felt like her head was going to explode. She had been in that burning building… She had been hit before that blonde guy had saved her… Oh God, was she_ dead _?_

_She had brought her hands to cover her mouth and was trying to keep herself from losing it all. She wasn’t sure if she was alive or dead, if this was a dream or not… What if this was Hell? No, she couldn’t accept that; she could never accept defeat so easily. She_ had _to be alive. But was sacrificing herself for someone else really a defeat? Nonetheless, Scottie still couldn’t accept it._

This is just a dream _, she thought to herself,_ you will wake up soon; until then, you will be okay.

_"Perhaps I should alert the guards?" The man suggested from his position. He had sat up on the bed and was now watching her with curious eyes._

_She abruptly turned towards him with wide eyes, a bit of fear seeping into her. "No, don’t! Even if this is a dream, I don't want to be chased away by guards.” She sighed as she leaned against one of the white walls, her mind thinking back to her last memories. She was thinking to that guy who had run in to save her. She had seen that he was tall muscular, and blonde. She couldn’t recall the minor details because of all the smoke, but she had an idea of what he looked like. He was such a good guy, or at least she would like to believe he was. Who else would have done such a thing for a stranger?_

_"Hm,” Scottie felt the man’s eyes on her as he begun to speak with her again.. "Would you care to explain why you are in here then?"_

_"I don't know how, honestly. I was in a burning building in Manhattan, then when a beam comes swinging towards me I black out and I'm here," She sighed again. Why was she telling him this stuff? Well, it was a dream, so maybe it wasn’t that huge of a deal. "I mean, thank God I'm dreaming, because if I had actually died, I wouldn’t be dreaming… right?” She looked back over at him._

_"How am I supposed to know that?_

_"Oh, sorry, dream guy," She glared at him as she put her hands on her hips, looking at him condescendingly. “I was under the impression you know everything.”_

_He stared at her more intently now; something shined in his blue eyes that was unsettling to her. What was going on in that brain of his?_

_"You truly believe you are in a dream?” He asked her._

_"Of course,” Scottie folded her arms over her chest, growing more and more uncomfortable by the moment. His gaze didn’t move from her once, so she did her best to avert his attention elsewhere. "I've got a question... What's your name again? I remember seeing you in New York, but I can't for the life of me remember names, even in dreams."_

_The man was quiet for a moment before he finally spoke up. "Loki of Asgard."_

Scottie blinked open her eyes, half expecting to see a smooth white ceiling. Instead, she was greeted with a grayish color on a popcorn ceiling. This had been her greeting the last couple of days, but she still wasn’t used to it. It was unfamiliar and uncomfortable. Now, the sun was shining through the blinds, hitting her right in the eyes. She closed her eyes again and relaxed her tense body back into the hospital bed.

Had it already been three days? Three days since she had woken back up on Earth? It was crazy how it felt like she hadn’t been on Earth in years. She felt like she had aged so much, but she was still the same age, just a few weeks older. She kind of wished she hadn’t have woken up, that she had stayed in her dream forever.

_Dream_. Had it been all a dream? Everything she felt, everything she experienced… was it all just a dream? Everything was so real in it; the colors, the scents, the people.

It made all this – Earth that is – seem… Well, boring.

Scottie knew she was going to have a hard time adjusting to life back on Earth when she was in that dream or whatever it was called, but it was something she thought she could handle. Now it seemed like her head was going to explode with the huge migraine she had. Groaning, she turned her head to the side to see the flower Steve had brought her. A small smile pulled across her lips.

She knew that Steve Rogers was such a nice guy, even though she had only seen what he had done for her so far. Also he wasn’t bad to look at with his blonde hair and pretty blue eyes. It didn’t help that he wore tight shirts that showed off his muscles… She knew someone else with fantastic muscles…

_No, I refuse to think about him_ , Scottie thought to herself as she closed her eyes. _He was just a part of the dream you had. Nothing more. Besides, it was obvious he was in love with_ someone _else, even in your dream._ And yet… Scottie couldn’t get the beautiful, blue eyed man from her dream out of her head. She blamed her ridiculous ideas of romance on that. Well, past ideas of romance. She had gotten over her childhood dream of a knight in shining armor, but that was before she had met _him_. Now she was believing in it a little more, despite her reminding herself constantly that he was just in a dream and he had a girlfriend, a very smart and pretty girl at that. Ugh, what _was_ she thinking? If it was nothing more than a dream, it wasn't that big of a deal that he had a girlfriend. How could he not? He was perfect. She felt as if she was the one in the wrong for even feeling something for a taken man.

Scottie managed to bring her thoughts back to Steve. She owed him her life and so much more. It made her wonder how she could ever repay him for it. Not only had he done that, but he had visited her every day and brought her _flowers_ , even _reading_ for her. He had much more than her father had for her. How do you repay someone for that? That she did not know, but she knew she would try her best. He had promised her that he would come back today since he didn’t end up coming yesterday. He had told her he would give her the space he thought she needed to get comfortable, but if she was honest, this was not the time she wanted to be alone. Plus, Steve’s presence was quite comforting.

Scottie’s stomach rumbled, alerting her of the hunger she hadn’t noticed she had. With a sigh, she began to reach over to press the call nurse button only to find she was no longer in the hospital bed. Instead, she was standing in the hospital hallway, her feet moving without her permission. Immediately she made herself stop moving and looked down to see a clipboard in her hand. She looked down at her outfit and saw that she had scrubs on and her body was most definitely not her own… it was a _man’s_. She looked over her arms and hands. What the _hell_ was this?

“Ethan, hey!” A blonde nurse with a sickly sweet smile walked up to her. Her spray tan was evident by the color washing off around the collar of her neck. “Are you coming out tonight still?”

“W-wh—?” Scottie said out in a man’s voice but stopped at the sudden dizziness she felt. She grabbed at her skull and started coughing.

  
“Ethan? Oh, my God! Ethan!” The blonde nurse called as Scottie fell to the ground. Scottie squeezed her eyes closed, waiting for the pain to be over… When it suddenly was. Opening her eyes, she found herself back in her hospital room in her own body.

She stayed still for a long while, her mind processing what had just happened. There was no logical explanation to what had just happened then… Unless it was a dream also. Yes, that made sense. She was thinking about Steve and had dozed off for a moment. A knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts.

“Come in.” She called, her voice sounding similar to a frog. She reached for the glass of water on her nightstand, greedily taking a sip. The door opened and she saw the lovely face of May Parker. A smile broke across her face as she sat the now empty glass back where it had been before. “May! I am so happy to see you.”

“Good morning, sweetheart. It’s good to see you, too.” May walked in with a smile as she pulled her salt and pepper hair back into a ponytail. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“Okay, I guess. A little light-headed.” Scottie replied as she brushed her brown hair out of her face.

“Aw, sweetie. What’s wrong?” May asked as she walked over to the bed. Scottie’s mind flashed back to the dream she had moments before and looked down at her lap.

“It was just bad dream, nothing more. I, uh, didn’t expect you to be here; I thought you had today off?” Scottie tilted her head slightly in question.

“Oh, Peter went to some event with Harry, and one of the other nurses asked if I could cover her.” They had the conversation about Peter and Harry the other day after Steve had left. Scottie, since her father had worked for Oscorp all of her life, had grown up with Harry Osborn and Peter Parker. Of course, she had lost contact with them both over the years – Harry had been sent to a boarding school, Peter’s parents died so he became distant – but she still remembered her childhood friends. She wondered if she'd ever see them again.

Scottie nodded and looked down at her hands again. While she did appreciate May’s company, a part of her wished to be alone to mull over her thoughts. However, that could be saved for later when she was.

“How is the patient today?” Scottie’s attention was brought to another person walking into the room, Dr. Strange. She smiled at him, small and forced. She still wasn’t sure how to feel about the doctor completely. He wasn’t very friendly, though he could be polite. And arrogant. He was very arrogant. Nonetheless, he was her doctor while she was in a coma, so she would try to be as nice as possible.

“The patient is fine, other than the headache she has.” Scottie answered, not too thrilled with him calling her “the patient.” She was right in front of him, surely he could have asked how she was doing by speaking to her and not May.

“You have head trauma, so that’s expected.” Strange walked over to her side and shined the flashlight in her eyes. He told her to follow it with her eyes and she did as she was told, though her head continued to feel as if a hammer was smashing against it. “Everything appears fine, however. You are a rare case, Miss West.”

Scottie looked up at him, her smile dropping. “Why do I get the feeling a ‘but’ is about to be said?”

“No, there is no ‘but.’ I am just simply surprised at you waking up at all. With the head trauma you had, it should have killed you. If not the head trauma, then the burns. Yet here you are, able to move around as if nothing is wrong.”

“Well, we are happy that you woke up, Scottie.” May said as she walked over to the corner that concealed the door from sight. She reached down to grab something and returned with a humongous arrangement of flowers that blocked her face from view. She sat it on the space she had just cleared some of Scottie’s flowers.

“Well, you have an admirer, don’t you?” Strange commented and Scottie shot him a look before looking at the various flowers in the bouquet May had just brought in. None of the flowers were the kinds she liked. It was extravagant, yet boring.

“My dad is hardly an admirer. He’s hated me from the moment I took my first step,” Scottie said as May took a note from the bouquet and handed it to her. She opened it and read it aloud. “‘ _Scottlyn, my dearest apologies for not being able to visit you. Feel better soon. – Jonathan West_.’ Thank you, dad, I’ll make sure to send the hospital bill to you... or to your secretary who I'll send a thank you note for the flowers.” She shook her head and looked over at May and Strange. “When can I check myself out?”

“Well, I would prefer you stay another day or two.” Strange responded as he looked over the clipboard in his hands. “You heal a bit more quickly than the average person, so all of you cuts are mostly just scars. The only problems left are your burns. I trust you’ve scheduled your skin grafts already?”

Scottie looked away from the doctor and exhaled. “I’m not getting them.”

Strange’s eyebrows rose and he looked up at her with surprise. “You aren’t getting them? And why is that? Surely it isn’t money. I’m sure your father could at least pay for that.”

“No, it’s not that,” Scottie shook her head and brought her gaze back to Strange. “Not everyone who gets burns can get a skin graft to make it go away. Why should I deserve it more than them? I have already been informed of a couple of people who are in the same boat as I am but deserve it way more than I do; I’m planning paying for their procedures.”

Strange stared at her for a long moment. Scottie stared back at him, uncertain how to take the way he was looking at her. She couldn’t decipher if it was good or bad, she just knew it was unwavering.

“I can see why you and your father do not get along,” Strange finally said then folded his arms over his chest. “This money, you will borrow from him?”

“No, I have my own money saved up. I will never ask him for anything until the day I die. Call pride or stubbornness, but I refuse to get that bastard the satisfaction.” Scottie responded, holding her head up high. Strange shook his head slightly and looked over at May.

“I suspect you are the one who told Miss West of these people? Must I remind you of the patient privacy you are supposed to keep?” He said in a harsh tone.

“It wasn’t her,” Scottie stated immediately, her eyes darting in between the two. “I asked some of the other doctors around here. They were more than willing to tell me. Evidently there’s only one doctor here against charity, which is ironic considering all the work he does for charities.”

Strange’s eyebrows furrowed and his face contorted into an unamused expression. “You speak your mind, I’ll give you that, Miss West. Let your boyfriend know when he visits that visiting hours have to be followed, even for Avengers.” With that, Stephen Strange turned on his heel and walked out of the door.

“Ugh, he infuriates me!” Scottie said, smashing her fists on the bed. “He is such a jerk.”

“Dr. Strange is certainly a piece of work,” May agreed then her solemn expression was changed with a smile. “Are you hungry, sweetheart? I should go get your breakfast.”

“Oh, if you don’t mind, May.” Scottie smiled sheepishly just as her stomach began grumbling again. May promised to be back in a moment and left the room. Scottie sighed and leaned her head back into the mattress, hoping for a pudding cup and some more silence for the rest of the day, gods knew she could use it.


End file.
